As Long As There's Krampus
by Antamaurora Silvalanda
Summary: After her grandfather informs her that he is diagnosed with lung cancer, Catherine "Cathy" Emily McKay looses all hope and faith in Christmas. That night, she is spirited away to the land of Krampus, a dark deity of Saint Nicholas, who forces her to work as his slave for one whole year.
1. Chapter 1

She didn't understand why this was happening to her. Or why it even had to happen at all. All she knew was that she hated Christmas. What once had been declared as her favorite holiday had now turned into the ultimate nightmare of bad news. Her full name was Catherine Emily McKay, but to her beloved grandfather, who had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, she was known as Cathy.

Sitting on a bench at the snow-covered park, all Cathy could think about was how hurt and angry she felt. _Why?_ She kept thinking to herself. Why her grandfather? Why him? He never smoked a day in his life, so why had he been cursed with having one of the most horrible diseases imaginable?

Although he had told her there was still hope for a cure, the seventeen year old girl with strawberry blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes didn't see any hope in the situation whatsoever. After receiving the unfortunate news from the man himself, Cathy immediately broke down in tears and hopelessly embraced her grandfather, who hugged her in return and told her it was going to be okay. He sounded so calm and reassuring when he told her. _"I know it sounds bad, Cathy, but it's Christmas Eve"_ , he said. _"It's never too late to ask for a miracle."_

 _What miracle?_ Cathy thought to herself, looking down at the object she was holding in her hands. A blue and silver Christmas card with a picture of a golden-haired angel overlooking a baby in a manger. She opened the card and revealed a message written in royal blue ink: _Merry Christmas, Grandpa Leo_. _With love, your granddaughter, Cathy_.

In a fit of anger, Cathy tore the Christmas card into a dozens pieces and let the shreds fly away into the darkening winter sky.

A light frosting of snow started to fall, and Cathy knew it was time for her to head back home. She stood up and pulled her hood over her head, tucking her fists deeply into her coat pockets before walking back.

By the time she got home, the weak snowfall had turned into a harsh blizzard. The minute she stepped through the door, Cathy took off her snow-drenched coat and called for her parents, but there was no response. "Oh, yeah, that's right", she said to herself. She just remembered her mom and dad were at a Christmas party and wouldn't be back until late. _A fine time they choose to abandon a dying old man_ , she thought, coldly.

"Grandpa!" Cathy called out, but he did not answer. "Grandpa?" She climbed up the stairs and peeked into his room, only to find that he was asleep in his bed. Cathy tiptoed over to him quietly and leaned down to listen for a heartbeat, but hearing his breathing made her feel even better. She looked at her grandfather and kissed him on his forehead, telling him that she loved him before retrieving to her own bedroom down the hall.

Cathy threw herself onto her bed, lying on her side and resting her head on her pillow for a minute. She turned herself over and sat up straight, picking up her favorite sock monkey named Mr. Leggett, a Christmas present her Grandpa Leo had given her twelve years ago. She then looked over on her nightstand and picked up the remote control, turning on the television. She flipped through the news channel, the wrestling channel, a channel that was showing a Rankin-Bass Christmas special, until finally, she had stumbled across a channel that was playing _Die Hard_. Cathy leaned herself back and tried to relax, watching Bruce Willis take on a bunch of terrorists, but just when it was getting to the best part of the movie, the power suddenly went out.

 _THUD!_

The whole house shook. Cathy gasped and jumped out of bed, holding Mr. Leggett tightly in her arms like a frightened child. Listening for any other sound or voice that might follow, Cathy stood where she was and waited anxiously. Footsteps were heard on the rooftop. The rattling of chains and the tinkling of Christmas bells mixed in with the heavy-sounding steps of whoever or whatever lurked on top of the house.

Cathy started breathing heavily, and beginning to worry about her grandfather, she immediately dashed from her room and out into the hallway, running straight towards his bedroom.

Slamming the door opened, Cathy tried turning on the light, forgetting that the power was out, but instead got a reaction from her grandfather, who sat up in bed and looked at his granddaughter, who had awoken him, with a worried expression.

"Cathy, what's the matter?"

"I heard something on the roof! You didn't hear it?"

Her grandfather looked up at the ceiling and then back at her. "No."

Cathy stared at him in shock and terror. He hadn't heard it? How was it that _she_ had heard it and not him?

Her grandfather groaned weakly, as he slowly threw the blankets off of him and said, "All right, let me go see-"

Before he could get himself out of bed, Cathy ran over to his side and placed her hands on his shoulders. "No, Grandpa, I'll do it", she insisted.

Her grandfather looked at her for a minute and nodded his head in understanding. "All right, darling", he said.

Cathy placed Mr. Leggett on the bed for a second and helped her Grandpa Leo to lie back down, throwing the blankets back over him.

"You just rest, Grandpa", said Cathy, stroking his head. "I'll be all right."

"Thank you, darling", said Grandpa Leo, smiling faintly. He took hold of his only granddaughter's hand and said to her, "Cathy, please don't be angry with me."

Cathy was silent for a minute. She shook her head and told him, "I'm not."

Her grandfather picked up Mr. Leggett and handed him back to her, whispering softly, "Merry Christmas, Cathy."

Cathy gave him a weak smile and nodded. "You, too."

After seeing that her grandfather was safe and sound, Cathy closed the door to his bedroom and stood out in the hall for a minute and wondering, _Was I imagining things?_

Since the power was still out, Cathy thought the best thing to do was to look for a flashlight. She went downstairs to the kitchen and found one in the junk drawer. With a click of the button, the batteries in it were still working. The next thing she thought was to light some candles in the house until the power came back on.

As soon as she stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room, Cathy looked over at the broken fireplace and befell her widening eyes, as well as the flashlight, onto an unholy figure standing right next to the Christmas tree. A massive, eight foot tall, horned creature with a hunched back. He wore an old, worn-out robe of red and brown patches, complete with dirty white trimming. And if she wasn't mistaken, he looked to have several heavy chains hanging from around his neck and on his back. Looking down and shining the flashlight down at his feet, Cathy gasped in shock upon discovering the horned creature had hooves instead. Hooves like a goat!

Looking back at his face and pointing her flashlight at him again, Cathy realized upon closer inspection that his 'face' looked to be nothing more than a mask. An opened mouth mask with melted human skin in the form of a screaming old man and a long white beard.

The flashlight dropped from her hand, while Mr. Leggett was being squeezed to death in her other one.

The horned creature laughed sinisterly and turned around halfway, only to reveal to her an old red velvet sack.

"...Grandpa..." Was all Cathy could breathe, slowly beginning to back away and wishing this was all just a bad dream.

Opening his sack, the sounds of evil cackling and breaking bones and mechanical whirring were heard from within it. Lightening flashed outside the house.

Cathy turned around and started running towards the stairs, screaming at the top of her lungs, "HELP!"

Suddenly, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

When Cathy woke up sometime later, she gasped in fright and found herself lying down in a dark room on a cold, dirt-filled floor. That thing... _that beast_...Cathy sat up at once and looked over towards the barred window. She stood up immediately and ran over to look outside, standing on the tips of her toes as she gazed out into the frozen tundra of snow and ice. The sky was dark. No other people or animals were in sight, and a cold and howling wind was the only sound to be heard.

Cathy put her back to the wall and allowed herself to sink down to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. Shivering from the cold, Cathy could see her breath right out in front of her. _Where am I?_ She thought worriedly to herself, rubbing her arms in hopes of staying warm. She looked over across the room and saw a bronze-colored package with a faded red ribbon sitting in the corner. The tag had the initials C.E.M. on it. _Her_ initials.

Cathy crawled over to the other side and picked up the present box, looking at it. She shook it gently, hearing the jingle-jangling of a bell. She untied the ribbon with trembling fingers and braced herself to open the box. Slowly opening the lid, Cathy looked inside and found a bauble nestled along the blue velvet interior of the box. Cathy picked up the bauble and saw it had the words engraved on it: _Gruss Vom Krampus_.

Hearing the latch to the door being unlocked, Cathy turned her head with a gasp and saw it open. There was nobody there, but she did hear distant voices coming from another room. Wicked, evil, demonic voices, cackling and vocalizing in the most horrid of tongues.

Braving a chance to see who or what it was, Cathy slowly, but quietly crept out of the room and out into the hallway, though it looked more like an underground tunnel. The voices grew stronger and louder as she neared towards the end. Cathy made a right turn and walked down a total of ten steps before entering into a large dining room. Her eyes grew big and her mouth dropped open in both bewilderment and amazement, with just a slight touch of horror and unbelievability.

Small creatures in devilish masks were all seated at the long table, which was aligned with a feast that would envy both Christmas _and_ Thanksgiving dinner. Two golden brown turkeys, a honey-glazed ham, salted pork, hot-buttered biscuits, mince pies, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, mashed squash, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and for some strange reason, oysters. A towering Christmas cake was placed right in the center of the malevolent banquet, with holly and ivy scattered across the table for decorations. Mugs of mulled wine and hot chocolate served as beverages.

Cathy was not sure what to make of this predicament. On the one hand, she was enticed by the delicious aroma of the food, which helped to distract her from her fear, but on the other, she still had no idea where she was or who it was that had kidnapped her and brought her to this place.

Cathy became distracted from her thoughts when she felt something stab her in the back of her leg. She fell down to one knee and yelled out, "Ouch!" Cathy grabbed the back of her leg and looked over her left shoulder, only to see a wind-up robot wielding a pair of scissors walk right pass her.

Two of the masked creatures got out of their seats and went over to grab Cathy, who tried fighting back, but to no avail. "Hey, let me go!" She protested, as the hooded minions dragged her over to the table and sat her down in a chair on the further end. They returned to their seats, laughing as they wiped the dirt off of their hands.

The double doors opened and revealed the silhouette of a towering, horned creature wearing a long robe. The masked, hooded creatures all got quiet and turned in their seats and looked at their master as he slowly approached the table. His loud footsteps and the sound of the chains draped all over his body made Cathy very nervous, as she clutched on to her chair.

The horned creature took his seat at the head of the table, pouring himself a goblet filled to the top with the spiced red liquid of winter alcohol.

"P-please...", Cathy whispered, clearing her throat. She spoke a little bit louder. "I don't know who you are, I don't know _what_ you are...but I have to get back to my family..."

The horned creature picked up the goblet in his right hand and silently raised it to Cathy, taking a long drink.

"Please", Cathy begged him, standing up. "My grandfather is sick. He might be dying. I don't want to loose him. Please, let me go!"

With a low hiss, the horned creature lowered his drink and stood up, slowly raising his left hand and pointing a long-nailed finger at her, as if to say she had brought this upon herself and that she wasn't going anywhere.

"Please, you don't understand!" Cathy shouted, banging her fist down onto the table. "My grandfather is dying! I need to be with him!"

Cathy ran over to the horned creature and dropped to her knees, clutching herself onto the heavy chains and unintentionally making them jangle. "Please...", Cathy whispered, almost on the verge of tears. "I'll do anything you want. Anything! Just tell me why you did this." Cathy looked up at the beastly creature and asked him, "Why did you take me?"

The horned creature reached into his sleeve and pulled out a little black silk bag for her to see.

Cathy shook her head. "I don't understand", she said.

The horned creature opened up the little black bag and tipped it upside down, as dozens of shredded up blue and silver pieces of a greeting card fell in front of Cathy. Among the remains were the images of a gold-haired angel and a baby that had been torn in half, and a handwritten message that bared the name, " _Grandpa Leo_ ". It was her grandfather's Christmas card.


	3. Chapter 3

Cathy looked up in horror at the horned creature dressed in the red robe, his dark magenta eyes blinking at her through his human-like mask.

"No", Cathy whispered, a hint of fear in her voice. She shook her head and said, "I didn't mean it."

The horned creature growled softly, extending out his long tongue and making her feel uncomfortable, increasing her fear of him. The chains around his body jingled. Cathy looked at the one hanging around his neck and noticed there was a bauble on the end of the hook. It looked just like the one she found in the present box, only this bauble had written on it: _Krampus_.

Cathy slowly looked up at him, pointing to the bauble as she spoke. "I...Is-is th-that your name?"

The small, masked creatures laughed at her question, cackling together like a pack of rabid hyenas.

The horned creature named Krampus looked up toward the ceiling and let out a cheerful, but sinister laugh.

"What?" Cathy asked him. "What's so-" Before she could even finish her sentence, a noose of Christmas lights was suddenly wrapped around her neck. Gasping for breath, the strawberry blonde girl tried to pry the cord away from her neck, but instead found herself being pulled up onto her feet. Cathy looked up to see who was choking her, only to find there was a porcelain cherub doll with wild eyes standing on a beam. The cord of Christmas lights was being held in the doll's talon-like hands. Given the appearance of her molting wings, the cherub looked like she was possessed by a demonic snowy owl.

With an encouraging cheer from the hooded minions in hideous masks, the cherub gave a sharp tug of the cord. Cathy gasped in pain, as the cord tightened around her neck. She felt herself being lifted off the ground by a mere inch and struggled to stand on tiptoes.

Krampus growled softly and looked up at the cherub, who grunted in frustration and let go of the cord.

Cathy fell to the floor instantly, taking a sharp inhale of breath and coughing.

Krampus picked up the girl by the back of her shirt and hissed at her.

Still breathing heavily, Cathy forced herself to look at the demonic monster, as Krampus slowly extended a clawed finger to her face. Carefully, he brushed away a tear that had unknowingly leaked out of the corner of her eye. He blinked twice.

"I'm sorry, Krampus", Cathy whimpered, her lips trembling.

Krampus did not answer her. He turned his head left and looked over toward the roaring fireplace.

Cathy looked into the bright red flames as well. Hearing the desperate cries of people screaming gave her a strong implication that she knew what Krampus was trying to tell her. More silent tears flowed from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, leaving behind glistening trails that looked like dried-up waterfalls running down her face.

Krampus looked at her again. His helpers waited silently to see what he would do next to the human girl.

"Please", Cathy begged him. "I'll do anything you tell me. Just please don't hurt me."

Krampus stared at her a minute.

A high-pitched shriek from the cherub and the over-lapping voices of the masked minions broke the silence.

Krampus made a howling noise that sounded like a whale being harpooned by a spear. It was bone-chilling at best. He turned away from his helpers and began to escort Cathy out of the dining room, stilling holding her by the back of her shirt.

"Wait. Where are you taking me?" Cathy asked him.

Krampus did not answer her. In fact, he never answered himself to anyone. Not even his helpers. This girl was in _his_ world now. Not hers. And therefore, she would obey him and do exactly as she was told. If she ever thought about stepping out of line, he would have her suffer the deepest consequences for her actions. Either way, Krampus would make her pay for loosing her Christmas spirit soon enough.


	4. Chapter 4

Cathy was thrown back into her cell. She turned her head and looked at Krampus, who gave her a low growl and slammed the door shut, locking her inside.

"Wait!" Cathy stood up and ran over to the door, banging her fist onto the hard wood. "Krampus, wait! What is it you want from me? Krampus!"

Panicking, Cathy turned around and ran over to the window and placed her hands onto the bars. "Help me!" She yelled. "Somebody help!"

Nobody answered her but the harsh, cold wind. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the snarling face of a sharp-toothed teddy bear appeared outside her window.

Cathy screamed in terror and fell backwards onto the floor, scooting away into a corner.

The teddy bear laughed maniacally, mocking her by pulling onto the bars in vain. A broken nutcracker with red eyes swung in next to him, pulling out his sword and tapping away at the demented bear's head. They both looked at each other and shared a laugh, delighted in seeing the weirded-out look on the girl's face, and disappeared from sight shortly afterward.

 _What in God's name is going on here?_ Cathy thought to herself. Christmas was supposed to be about love. About family and friends. And about the birth of baby Jesus, the Lord Almighty. Not about demons and evil spirits and possessed toys. Something was very wrong with this place. And whatever it was, Cathy knew that Krampus had brought her here for a reason. But to what purpose, she did not know. Seeing how she would not be given an answer until morning, Cathy grabbed the thin blanket lying next to her and lied down on the floor, crying herself to sleep.

When daylight came, Cathy woke up and looked around the room, sighing to herself in defeat. She had hoped it was only a nightmare, but it wasn't. She was the prisoner of a monster.

Cathy stood up and walked over to the window. When she looked outside, the sky was now a bright blossom pink. A glowing red sun was slowly rising far out in the distance.

A childlike giggle was heard.

Cathy gasped and turned around fast. There was nobody in the room, but there _was_ something lying in the corner. A plate of three gingerbread men, a candy cane, and a scroll of ancient parchment tied up with a emerald green ribbon.

Cathy walked over to the corner and bent down to pick up the scroll. She carefully undid the ribbon, letting it fall to the floor in a faint rustle. Slowly, and with trembling hands, Cathy unrolled the parchment and saw the words written in dark red ink: _As punishment for your lack of faith in the Christmas spirit, you will be sentenced to spend one year here with me. Do not worry about your family, or your grandfather. I have my ways of knowing if they are well. They will do fine without you for a time._

Cathy looked the scroll over a few more times, getting angrier each time she read it. Finally she crumbled up the ancient parchment into a ball and threw it across the room with a frustrated grunt. She ran her fingers through her hair, grabbing handfuls of strawberry blonde locks as she began pacing back and forth across the floor. "This is not happening, this is _not_ happening!" Cathy placed her hands onto the wall and lowered her head, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "It's okay, it's okay", she whispered calmly. Gently, she tapped her forehead against the wall and said to herself, "Okay, now think, Cathy. Think, think, think."

Cathy felt something hit the back of her head and turned around quickly, but there was nobody there. She looked down at the floor and discovered it was the candy cane that hit her. Suspicious, Cathy looked over at the plate of gingerbread men and went back over to the corner. She knelt down and picked up one of the cookies, studying the cute little face of the gingerbread man with its frosting smile and spicy-sweet aroma.

Skeptical over the idea of a Christmas cookie being alive, Cathy gave herself a sly smile and shook her head. "No, it can't be", she said. However, out of sheer morbid curiousity, Cathy gently poked the middle button of frosting on the gingerbread man's belly...and made it giggle!

Her eyes widened in shock as she screamed, dropping the gingerbread man onto the floor and backing away against the wall.

The other two gingerbread men jumped off the plate and started dancing and giggling alongside their companion. They sounded like children. Their personalities matched their voices, for the three gingerbread men ran over and started playing soccer with the crumpled up ball of parchment. Cathy yelped and stepped out of the way when the first gingerbread man kicked the ball to her foot. "Go away!" She screamed.

" _Go away_ ", the first gingerbread man mocked her, flashing an innocent smile and cackling wickedly.

The second gingerbread gave a whistle, to which the door opened and revealed two of the small, masked creatures standing outside. One of them was holding a collar with a chain attached to it.

Cathy did not like where this was going at all and slowly back herself up against the wall.

The third gingerbread man picked up the candy cane and, with the help of his two buddies, jumped into the air and landed onto Cathy's left shoulder, placing the candy cane around the front of her neck like a dagger. "Turn around and get on your knees", he said in a high-pitched voice.

Ridiculous as she thought it was to take orders from a Christmas cookie, Cathy knew that if she didn't obey Krampus' minions, she would only be getting herself into deeper trouble.

The two masked creatures walked into the cell and over to Cathy, who turned around and dropped down to her knees. The third gingerbread man cackled mischievously and jumped off of her shoulder. Cathy closed her eyes as the masked midget creature with the chain strapped the collar around her neck. She stifled a sob when she felt the other one grab her arms and tie her hands together behind her back. With a gentle tug of the chain, Cathy slowly got back on her feet and allowed herself to be taken out of the cell.


	5. Chapter 5

Whatever punishment Krampus had in mind for Cathy, it was far less worse than what she had anticipated.

The two masked creatures in hoods led her into a small room filled with no windows and sat her down at a small table. There were several red candles sitting on the corner of the table, each one lite with a bright golden flame. They untied her hands and took the collar off. Cathy rubbed one of her wrists and then the other. One of the small creatures patted her hard on the back, before he and his friend left the room, cackling.

Soon as those two stepped out, the three gingerbread men came waddling in like baby penguins. Giggling like the mischievous little devils they were, the gingerbread men climbed up the table and dance on top of it. Cathy looked at them with a weirded-out expression. It was strange to see a bunch of Christmas cookies walking and talking like normal people.

One of the gingerbread men picked up a paintbrush and hit one of his friends with it. The second gingerbread man got angry and started pulling on the other end of the brush. The two gingerbread men started a tug-a-war with each other, until the third one got between them and threw the paintbrush away. Soon, all three of them started wrestling with each other.

"Guys, guys, please", Cathy begged them. "Don't fight."

"Relax. They're just playing", said a little girl's voice.

Cathy looked round the room, but there was nobody there. "Who said that?"

The three gingerbread men stopped fighting and looked up.

Suddenly, the cherub flew down from out of the dark and landed on the table, making Cathy gasp in fright.

"Clumpy, Dumpy, and Lumpy are their names", said the cherub.

Cathy swallowed hard, feeling a light trickle of sweat seeping from her forehead. "And...and you are?"

"Perchta."

A growl from under the table made Cathy look underneath. The teddy bear with sharp teeth flashed her an unpleasant smile and waved.

Cathy felt something stab her hand and let out a shriek of pain. She looked up and saw the evil robot toy was back again. He was still holding a pair of scissors.

"You've met Teddy Klaue and Nutcracker", said Perchta. "And, of course, you remember Tik-Tok."

"Tik-Tok?" Cathy asked.

" _Beep-bop-beep. Beep-bop. Double-beep-bop-bop-_ ", said Tik-Tok, speaking in a robotic fashion.

"Yes", Perchta informed Cathy. "He said don't you forget it or he'll have to give you a haircut."

Teddy Klaue and Nutcracker joined in laughing with Perchta, as Tik-Tok wielded his scissors at Cathy, letting her know that he was serious.

Cathy grabbed a strand of her hair and brought it over her left shoulder, stroking it nervously. "So...this is all of you, right?" She asked them. "I mean, there's no other toys or baked goods I should be worried about?"

The trio of gingerbread cookies joined in with the demonic toys and laughed along with them.

"We are all but mere child's play compared to the snake clown, my dear", said Nutcracker. He spoke with a British baritone.

"The what?" Cathy asked him.

The door swung open before she could get an answer.

The toys and the gingerbread men all stopped laughing and turned around, seeing their master standing in the doorway.

"Uh-oh", said Teddy Klaue. His voice was deep and gravelly. "It's the boss."

The three gingerbread men shrieked in terror and jumped off the table, running out of the room past Krampus. Tik-Tok jumped off, too. Followed by Nutcracker and Teddy Klaue. Perchta fluttered her wings and lifted herself into the air. She was just about to leave with the other toys, but then Krampus grabbed her by one of her wings. He growled softly. As if she knew he was giving her an order, Perchta sighed and said, "Yes, boss."

Krampus released Perchta and slowly walked over to Cathy, standing right behind her. He placed his claw-like hands on her shoulders, sending a shivering chill throughout her body. Cathy just now noticed it, but he was wearing a couple of gold rings on each hand.

Cathy looked up at Krampus and asked him, "What are you going to do to me?"

Perchta flew back onto the table and said, "He isn't going to do anything to you. As long as do what you're told, he won't harm you."

Cathy looked at the cherub with the twisted eyes and asked, "But what is it I'm suppose to do?"

"You're gonna help us make 18,250 toys for Saint Nicholas to deliver", said Perchta.

Cathy's mouth dropped open. "Eighteen thousand?!"

"Two-hundred and fifty", Perchta reminded her.

"I can't make over eighteen thousands toys in one year!" Cathy protested. "I'm only one person!"

"There are 365 days in a year", said Perchta. "That's fifty toys a day. You do the math."

"Are you kidding?" Said Cathy. "I can't even do algebra!"

"Whatever", said Perchta, lifting herself up with her wings and flying over to the door.

Krampus turned himself halfway and reached for something hiding behind his back. He set a green sack with snowflake designs on it next to the desk. He then handed Cathy an envelope and walked over to the door with Perchta.

Cathy looked at the envelope briefly and then looked at Krampus. "Wait. What do you mean I'm gonna help make toys for Saint Nicholas?"

"Figure it out", said Perchta. "You lost your Christmas spirit, remember? This is your punishment from Hell. Now pay for it!" The cherub turned and left the room.

Krampus looked back at Cathy and shut the door behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Cathy sat there for a minute, stunned. Saint Nicholas? Animated toys? A desolate wintery landscape? Miniature beings that assisted a bearded urban legend who wears red? This was more than a punishment. This was a real life version of _The_ _Nightmare Before Christmas_!

Regaining her sanity, Cathy looked at the envelope and opened it. Inside, there was a note. It read: _Here is a list of toys for you to make. You'll find everything you need in the sack. Once you have finished making a toy, wrap it in a box with a bow and place it on the shelf._

Cathy looked to her right and saw an empty shelf covered in cobwebs and dust.

Cathy looked over the list of toys she was suppose to make and wondered how she was going accomplish making half of them. Beside each toy, there was a child's name and the country they were from. Some asked for scooters and bikes, some asked for dolls. Half of them wanted stuffed animals. Cathy felt a little iffy when one child asked for a polar bear with a red ribbon. She looked at the green sack on her right and opened it. She dug through it and felt something soft and fuzzy. She pulled out a deflated polar bear without stuffing and set it down on the table. She looked in the sack again and searched through it until she found some cotton to fill the polar bear with.

After she finished stuffing the polar bear toy, Cathy stitched the back on the plush toy to close it up. She silently thanked her mother for teaching her how to sew. Cathy looked in the sack again for some red velvet and tied a bow around the polar bear's next. She picked up the stuffed polar bear and stood up and went to place it on the shelf. She went back over to the table and crossed the child's name off the list.

A dozen or so stuffed animals later, Cathy had just finished stitching up a purple elephant with pink spots. She went to place it on the shelf next to a stuffed sheep and walked back over to the table. After crossing off a little girl named Ethel from Hot Springs, Arkansas, Cathy looked over the list and saw that a boy from Moscow, Russia wanted a choo-choo train. She had taken some woodshop in school, but never before did she ever have to make trains or boats or animals. Luckily for her, all Cathy needed was a hammer and a few nails. All the pieces were in the bag, so there was no need for her to use a saw or a blade to cut the shapes. After she was done putting it together, she painted it.

Two hours later, Cathy was starting to feel sick. She folded her arms on the table and lied her head down. For a minute, she thought she was going to throw up, or even faint.

Suddenly, the door opened and Krampus came back, holding a plate and a mug.

Cathy looked up and saw him approach her.

Krampus set the food and drink beside Cathy on the table. A turkey sandwich and a mug apple cider.

Cathy looked at the food and then looked up at Krampus, who blinked twice.

Cathy nodded her head and said, "Thank you."

Krampus turned with a soft growl and walked away, the sound of his chains jingling as he left the room.

Once he was gone, Cathy grabbed the sandwich and started eating. The bread was hard and the meat tasted old, but it was better than having nothing in her stomach at all. After finishing half the sandwich, Cathy picked up the mug of cider and washed down the food stuck in her throat. She recoiled at the fact that the drink had a strong touch of cinnamon in it, but drank it nevertheless.

After she finished eating, Cathy got right back to work again. Looking over the list, she decided to work on painting a set of 12 soldiers for a boy in Vienna, Austria. She waited an hour for them to dry and put the soldiers in a metallic red box with an emerald green bow. She added some bouncing balls into a royal purple box and top it off with a white bow. She took the two neatly wrapped presents and put them on the shelf. Cathy was starting to think she could handle this job, but then wondered if Krampus was only giving her the easier toys to begin with first. She found herself wrong when she looked at the list and saw that a little girl named Tabitha wanted a pair of sequined ballerina slippers.

Later that night, just as she was finished putting a sparkly gold ribbon on an orange bicycle, Cathy heard the door open and looked over. Krampus had come back again. He stepped into the room and looked down at her, his eyes darker than usual.

"I finished everything on the list just like you said", Cathy whispered.

Krampus looked over and saw all the toys she had made. He examined her work from where he stood and then looked back at Cathy, who closed her eyes and lowered her head, trembling in fear. Krampus let out a dark and cruel chuckle, and placed his left hand on the top of her head.

Cathy looked up at Krampus, who nodded his head, letting her know that he was pleased with her work.

Krampus extended his hand to Cathy, who took hold of it. She stood up and followed him out of the small workroom.

Krampus led Cathy back to her cell and unlatched the door, opening it. He looked at her, as if telling her to step inside. A low growl was heard behind the screaming human-like mask of his.

Cathy understood him and did as she was told. She stepped into her cell and looked back at Krampus, before he shut the door and locked her in for the night.

Cathy turned around and was surprised to find a skimpy little tree covered in tinsel garland sitting in the corner. There was a present underneath it. She went over and picked up the present, shaking it. Cathy untied the ribbon and opened the lid. She gasped when she saw what was inside.

"Mr. Leggett!"

Cathy took Mr. Leggett out of the box and hugged him close to her chest, kissing him several times as tears spilled from her eyes. She looked at the sapling of a tree and saw the bauble with Krampus' name on it.

Cathy looked at Mr. Leggett and then stood up and walked over to the window, a look of determination on her face. "Don't worry, Grandpa. I will get out of here."


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, two more of Krampus' Elves came to Cathy's cell. These two, she did not recognize. One of them wore a mask that resembled a smiling woman. And the other one wore a mask with horns and a tongue sticking out of the mouth. Both of them had a pitchfork-shaped scar on the forehead of their face coverings.

Unlike last time, Cathy was not placed in chains, nor was she taken to the small workroom. Instead, the two Elves led her into the kitchen. There was another Elf standing by the fireplace, stirring something into a cauldron. This one was wearing a mask with a devilish grin, and had a knife and a fork in place of horns.

The kitchen Elf turned to them. " _Gluggagaegir! Stekkjarstaur!_ " He spoke with a heavy German accent.

" _Ketkrokur_!" The two other Elves cried in rejoice. They walked away from Cathy and went over to their friend.

The one named Gluggagaegir embraced Ketkrokur in a nice, warm hug, while the one named Stekkjarstaur patted Ketkrokur on his back. Stekkjarstaur spoke something in a language Cathy could not understand, though it sounded mostly German. Ketkrokur turned and looked at him, as he spoke in the same dialect as his friend. Gluggagaegir suggested something to both Elves in their native tongue. Both Stekkjarstaur and Ketkrokur looked at Gluggagaegir, and pretty soon, all three Elves started overlapping each other in a conversation.

Feeling left out, Cathy raised her hand like a kindergarten and asked them, "Um... _Excusez-moi, por favor!_ "

All three Elves stopped talking and looked at her.

Cathy lowered her hand and said, "Uh, _Habla Ingles, mon ami?_ "

The three Elves waved her off in disgust and went to get started on preparing the evening feast.

At first, Cathy didn't know what to do, but then she felt something firm and sticky hit the back of her head, almost like a ball of dough. She turned around and saw none other than the three gingerbread men, who cackled triumphantly.

Cathy glared at them and walked over to the table they were standing on. She looked over at the butcher knife lying next to the cutting board on the right and picked it up, stabbing it just mere inches in front of the three gingerbread men. Frightened, the three gingerbread men screamed and ran away.

Cathy pulled the knife out of the table and set it aside, grabbing for a bowl and some flour. She went over to Stekkjarstaur and asked for some water, but all she got was a container of salt and a handful of yeast. Stekkjarstaur laughed at her look of disgust and went back to chopping vegetables. His friend, Gluggagaegir, chopped the head off of a chicken and started plucking feathers from the poultry's carcass.

A jab in the side from Ketkrokur made Cathy turn around and look at him. The Elf started ranting in German at her, and though she couldn't understand him, Cathy nodded her head and said in a timid voice, "Y-yes, sir."

Returning to her station, Cathy placed the salt container on the table and dropped the yeast into the mixing bowl. She picked up a wooden spoon and started mixing the ingredients together, but then a high-pitched voice suddenly caught her attention. Cathy looked to her left and saw one of the gingerbread men had returned. He was struggling to hold a teacup filled with water and almost ended up spilling half of it onto himself.

Cathy took the teacup from the gingerbread man before any accidents could occur. The little gingerbread man wiped his forehead and whistled in relief.

"Thank you", said Cathy, pouring the water into the bowl and not looking at him.

"Dumpy", said the gingerbread man.

Cathy looked at him with wide eyes. "I beg your pardon?" She asked him.

"Dumpy, Dumpy", said the gingerbread man, waving his arms up and down. "Dumpy, me."

Cathy raised an eyebrow at him, looking confused. "Is that supposed to be your name or something?"

The little gingerbread man giggled innocently.

A clattering of dishes made Cathy gasp in fright and turn around. Gluggagaegir had fallen onto the floor, breaking several plates in the process. Stekkjarstaur, who purposely made her trip over his foot, put a hand to the mouth of his mask and laughed sinisterly. Gluggagaegir stood up and picked up a plate that wasn't broken. With it, she smashed it right over Stekkjarstaur's head. In return, the male Elf picked up a basket of oysters and tossed the slimy, raw mollusks onto the mask of the female Elf. The two Elves lunged at each other and wrestled onto the floor, knocking over a barrel of potatoes.

Cathy dropped her mouth open in shock at their childish behavior, while Dumpy jumped up and down, cheering them on.

Ketkrokur gave a shout at the two Elves and broke them apart, wielding a bloodied meat hook as he cursed at his friends in German.

Cathy looked back at Dumpy and whispered to him, "Okay, listen. I have no idea what I'm doing, I don't really know how to cook, but I could really use your help. Now, as long as you behave yourself, can I trust you to be my friend and help me make dinner?"

"Dumpy, help! Dumpy, help!" The little gingerbread man exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.

Ketkrokur came over to Cathy and grabbed her by her arm, dragging her away. Dumpy jumped down off the table and followed behind them. Ketkrokur led Cathy over to another table. A sheet of dough was layed out before here. Judging from the smell, it looked very much like cookie dough. Ketkrokur spoke something to her in German and then pointed to some cookie cutters lying right next to her.

Cathy looked at Ketkrokur and asked him hopefully, "You want me to bake these?"

" _Ja, mein fraulein!_ " Ketkrokur exclaimed. He then returned to pouring butter and herbs onto a turkey.

When Cathy was a little girl, one of her favorite things to do with her grandfather was make cookies. Cutting them into the shape of stars and trees and ornaments and candy canes was of no problem to her. After baking a dozen or so batches, Cathy would hum quietly to herself as she frosted them and added a few candy sprinkles to a few of them.

When it came to baking a cake, Cathy was the worst possible choice you could pick to make one. So, after two failed attempts at making a Christmas cake, Ketkrokur had decided to give her a new job. Speaking to her in his native German, Ketkrokur pointed to a door near the back of the kitchen. Once again, Cathy looked lost as to what he was saying. Thanks to Dumpy, she was able to receive something of a translation.

"The ivy and the holly, the ivy and the holly", said Dumpy, in a singsong tone of voice.

Cathy looked at Ketkrokur and asked, "What ivy and holly?"

Ketkrokur grunted in annoyance and grabbed Cathy by her arm again. He brought her over to the door and picked up a heavy black-furred coat, handing it to Cathy. Ketkrokur opened the door and a strong wind blew into the kitchen, letting out the heat and bringing in a wave of heavy snowflakes. He pointed to a red-glassed greenhouse outside and handed her a basket. Cathy put on the coat at once, knowing now that he wanted her to venture out into the cold.

"You pick, you bring back", said Ketkrokur, in a heavy-accented English.

Cathy looked at him with wide eyes and asked him, "Excuse me?"

Before she knew it, Cathy was pushed outside by Ketkrokur, who laughed at her as he shut the door.

Cathy sat up immediately and looked over towards the greenhouse of red glass. She stood up and wiped the snow off of the coat and picked up the basket and headed over to the greenhouse.

Once she stepped inside the greenhouse, Cathy was amazed to discover all assortments of Christmas-related flowers and plants growing inside the nursery. Beautiful poinsettias and holly with bright-red berries on them, hellebores and ivy bushes, Christmas cactus with colorful orchards on them. A chandelier of mistletoe hung overhead. A pinecone tree was nestled in the corner. But the one plant that caught Cathy's attention the most was the patch of snowberries growing near Christmas bell flowers.

Cathy had once heard from somewhere that snowberries were very poisonous. It was harmless to most animals, but to a human, it could be very dangerous.

Just then, Cathy looked to her left and stared out the red stained glass window, watching as the heavy snowflakes fell from the sky like flaky blood droplets. She had an idea, and though it might not work, she was more than determined to carry out her plan.


	8. Chapter 8

After gathering as much holly and ivy into the basket as she could, Cathy braved out into the bitter cold and returned back to the kitchen. She handed the basket to Ketkrokur and said in a singsong tone, "You're welcome." He waved her off and Cathy retreated over to the spice cabinet. She tried looking for an empty bottle, but could not find one. She grabbed the vial of cinnamon and went back over to her station to continue making dinner.

Cathy looked over her shoulder to make sure nobody was watching her. All three Elves were occupied at the moment. Dumpy had left the kitchen, which she was more than thankful for. Cathy reached into her pocket and pulled out a single white berry about the size of a sparrow's egg. She placed it down on the table and took the vial of cinnamon and poured the remaining continents into a batch of hot chocolate. She stirred the batch with a wooden spoon and looked over her shoulder again. Stekkjarstaur slung a sack of flour over his shoulder and walked out of the kitchen, while Gluggagaegir was busy cleaving some meat for the pies. Ketkrokur had gone.

Cathy looked away and took a silent deep breath. She took out some more snowberries from her pocket and set them on the table next to the vial. She picked up a butter knife and took one of the snowberries, slowly cutting away into the soft, spongy skin of the fruit. She glanced over to see if the two Elves were watching her, but they weren't. Cathy focused her attention back onto her work, and in almost no time at all, a few grains of sparkling seeds spilled out of the husk. Cathy set the knife down and squeezed the snow-like fluids of the berry into the vial. She discard the shriveled fruit back into her pocket and repeated the same thing with the rest of the berries.

Five minutes later, Cathy had filled the vial halfway with snowberry poison, as she called it. Once in a while, Cathy would glance over at Gluggagaegir and Stekkjarstaur, but they paid her no attention. If anything, they acted as if she wasn't even there. Cathy didn't mind, as it seemed everything was all going according to plan. Just as she stuck the vial of snowberry poison safely into her pocket, Ketkrokur returned and clapped his hands. Cathy looked over at him with wide eyes. Ketkrokur made an announcement in German, to which Gluggagaegir and Stekkjarstaur cheered. They each picked up a tray or a dish, and left the kitchen to take them into the dining room. It was time for dinner.

Cathy was just about to leave the kitchen, but then Ketkrokur held his arm out in front of her, blocking her path. He pointed to Cathy and then pointed to the floor.

"Do you want me to stay in here?" Cathy asked him, confused.

Ketkrokur pointed to Cathy again and said, "Here, you stay." He pointed toward the dining room and said in German, " _Elfen, raus dort._ "

Cathy pointed to the dining room and said, "You _raus_?"

" _Ja_ ", said Ketkrokur.

Cathy pointed to the floor and asked, "I stay _rein_?"

"You stay", said Ketkrokur.

"Right", said Cathy, who turned around and walked away.

Ketkrokur went over and picked up a turkey filled with stuffing and headed out into the dining room. Gluggagaegir and Stekkjarstaur came back. One of them got a ham covered in cherries and pineapple, while the other one carried out a punchbowl filled with skewed oysters.

Cathy began cleaning up the messes the three Elves made, gathering up dishes and taking them over to the sink. She used a filthy, old rag to wipe away the discarded scraps and food pieces left behind from all the preparation. Ketkrokur, Gluggagaegir, and Stekkjarstaur came back to the kitchen several times to take the rest of the food out. Just as he was about to take the last dish out, a roasted goose, Ketkrokur turned around and pointed to a flour-covered Cathy.

" _Fraulein!_ "

Cathy turned around, startled. She placed her hands behind her back.

"Dessert and drink!" Ketkrokur spoke in English. "You bring now."

Cathy nodded her head and saluted him. "Yes, sir."

Ketkrokur grunted, waving her off, and turned to leave.

Cathy lowered her hand, hardly believing her luck tonight. They were actually putting _her_ in charge of bring out the refreshments? She couldn't believe how smoothly this was all working out for her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial of snowberry poison, looking at it. Cathy wasn't sure if it would work on Krampus, or even his Elves. She highly doubted it would work on the gingerbread men or the toys, but with what she had in the cinnamon bottle, there was only enough poison in there for maybe one person.

Sticking the bottle back into her pocket, Cathy went over and picked up a platter of Christmas cookies she had bake. She went out into the dining room, where Krampus was seated at the head of the table. The Elves were all gathered around the banquet, cackling wickedly and speaking in tongues as they helped themselves to the food. Cathy walked over to the table and carefully set the plate of cookies down on the table. The Elves grabbed handfuls after handfuls, to which Cathy back away and raised her hands.

A childish giggling made Cathy look down at the floor. Clumpy, Dumpy, and Lumpy were all dancing about at her feet. Two of them were holding candy canes and fighting each other in a mischievous battle of playful wits.

Cathy hopped over to the right and said to them, "Excuse me." The gingerbread men ignored her and ran away to play elsewhere. A growling noise from Krampus caught Cathy's ear. She turned around and saw him slowly raise his goblet to her.

"Yes, I was just going to bring out the drinks", said Cathy. She walked over to Krampus and said, "In fact, why don't I fill your cup first, okay?"

Krampus stared at her and gave her a slight nod of his head.

Cathy nodded her head and smiled. "I'll be right back."

Krampus kept his eyes on the human girl as she left to fetch his drink. He turned his head and watched her enter into the kitchen alone. He turned his head away and looked back at his helpers, seeing them enjoying themselves among the feast.

Cathy picked up a pewter ladle and dipped it onto the batch of hot chocolate and filled Krampus' goblet with some of the rich, creamy beverage. She took a small sip and looked around to see if anybody was watching her and spat back into the goblet. She set the goblet down on a table and reached into her pocket and fished out the vial of snowberry poison. She poured the blood of the white fruit into the goblet and used a small spoon to stir the toxic into the cocoa drink. She set the spoon down and smelled the concoction. Thinking Krampus might pick up a scent, Cathy went over to the spice cabinet and looked to see if there was any vanilla flavoring or mint leaves.

Suddenly, Cathy heard a familiar melody of musical jingling being played. It sounded almost like an old nursery rhyme she once heard. Something about a weasel? Slowly, she turned around and looked over toward the entrance to the dining room. She was not prepared for what she saw.

Standing just a few feet away from her was long, large, and jolly-looking harlequin creature wearing a red jester hat. It had an ugly, creepy face with beady black eyes and an split-open, expandable jaw, showing a mouthful of sharp fangs. The lower half of his body was as fat and plump as a boa constrictor. The jack-in-the-box on the creature's tail served as a rattle. With all these things combined, he was the most terrifying clown she had ever seen.

Cathy stood there for a minute, frozen in fear at the sight of the Der Klown. Finally, she came back her senses and screamed with all her might, dropping the goblet and bolting out the kitchen door, out into the dark winter night.

She ran away as fast as she could, breathing heavily as the cold wind stabbed at her face with ice crystals. Despite the harsh storm and the bitter freeze, Cathy didn't care where she was going. All she thought about was getting as far away as possible.

Suddenly, Cathy felt something either bite or grab at her ankle and fell down. Before she knew it, she disappeared into the snow, screaming.


	9. Chapter 9

Cathy did not remember much of what happened to her. After falling down into the snow, she blacked out and that thought for sure she was dead. She moaned as she woke up and slowly opened her eyes, only to look down at the floor and discover the position she was in.

A red and green spreader bar was placed between her legs, lined with two white fur bondage cuffs strapped around her ankles. A gentle comfort compared to the displeasure that lied ahead for her. Her eyes widened in shock and horror to the fact that she was naked. Feeling her arms raised above her head, Cathy looked up and saw a cord of Christmas lights was wrapped tightly around her wrists, holding her hands up toward the ceiling.

Hearing the cackling of the gingerbread men and the snarling of the Elves, Cathy looked forward and saw the helpers of Krampus were all gathered around her. Her face blushed as red as a rose to the humiliation of having her breasts, buttocks, and vagina all visible for them to see. Teddy Klaue roared from a distance and swung his claws, as his friend, Perchta, fluttered next to him and shrieked at the fully-nude girl, lashing her tongue out wildly. Nutcracker laughed, while Tik-Tok made mechanical whirring sounds like crazy and brandished his scissors in the air like a psychopath.

Cathy felt a gloved hand trailing up her left side and looked over, screaming when she saw the face of Der Klown. Cathy struggled to loosen herself free from her restraints, but it was of no use. The harlequin-like monster opened up his drooling mouth of sharp teeth and let out a hunger-filled growl.

"OH, MY GOD!" Cathy shouted, desperately trying to move herself away from the snake clown, tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes.

A familiar howling made all the creatures stop cackling and growling, reducing them to absolute silence.

Lumpy, Clumpy, and Dumpy screamed in fright and ran over to hide behind an Elf wearing a dark birdlike mask with a long beak.

The double doors creaked open. Cathy turned her head right and saw the terrifying shadow of Krampus illuminated by moonlight, his long, gnarled horns curving out over the top of his head. Ever so slowly, Krampus walked his way across the dining room floor and shuffled himself over to Cathy, his heavy chains dragging behind him and the long train of his robe. The doors closed behind him on their own.

Cathy gasped and felt her body trembling in fear, breathing heavily.

Krampus stood himself in front of her and turned his head right and reached his hand over to Der Klown, gently stroking his head like a little puppy dog.

"Why are you doing this?!" Cathy yelled at him.

Krampus snorted and turned his attention back to Cathy, his red eyes glowing as he stared down at her, towering over her like a hideous mountain of rotting flesh and tattered patchwork.

One of Krampus' Elves walked over to his master and handed him a pair of jeans. Cathy recognized them as her own and had a bad feeling about where this was heading. Krampus reached a claw-like hand into one of the pockets. When he pulled it out, he opened up his hand and revealed to her the dried up husks of the snowberries, growling softly.

Cathy looked up at Krampus and shook her head. "I can explain!"

Krampus hissed angrily and threw the husks of the snowberries far into the fireplace, which set itself ablaze. Cathy could feel the warmth of the hearth from where she stood.

Looking back at him, Cathy was horrified to see Krampus had extended out his tongue and was now using it to lick itself all over her nude body, starting with her breast.

"Ugh!" Cathy moaned in disgust, turning her head away and closing her eyes tight, feeling the hardening of her nipple. It felt strangely good, but so very wrong.

The Elves started chanting in ancient tongues, though neither one of them paid any attention to it.

When Cathy no longer felt his tongue assaulting her mounds, she opened her eyes and looked at Krampus, who laughed sinisterly, leaving her completely unaware to the surprise he had waiting for her.

"Please don't do this", Cathy begged him, fresh tears falling from her sparkling blue orbs.

Krampus reached out a hand and slowly dragged a strand of her long, beautiful hair over her shoulder. Cathy found this oddly pleasurable and felt as though she were being placed under a powerful spell. Terrified, she dared herself not to move.

The Elves continued with their vocalizing, as Krampus placed his hands on both sides of Cathy's body. He slowly drew them down to the middle of her abdomen, tickling her and making her squirm from the uncomfortable sensation that was blossoming into the lower region of her thighs. She tried closing her legs to prevent him from noticing this, but then remembered the bar tied to her ankles that was keeping her from doing so.

Without warning, an unseen Elf snuck up behind Cathy and placed a soft cloth over her mouth, gagging her. The strawberry blonde girl moaned in distress. Der Klown clapped in amusement, as the demonic toys cheered on for their master to continue his work of tormenting the human who tried to kill him. The Elves kept singing.

As Cathy tried to wiggle herself out of her captivity, Krampus slowly reached a claw-like hand behind her back and gave her a gentle stroke of her buttocks. This unexpected movement made Cathy close her eyes and groan deeply behind her gag. She stood up on tiptoes, feeling the cord of Christmas lights squeeze tighter around her wrists as she tried to pull her hands down.

With Cathy distracted, Krampus made his next move in the act of punishing her for her second-committed crime. Swiftly, but silently, Krampus stepped himself right behind Cathy and placed his claw-like hands onto her hips.

Cathy opened her eyes and tried to look behind her, but Krampus forced her to look forward, having her bend slightly over.

Lumpy, Clumpy, and Dumpy all came out from hiding behind the bird-masked Elf, and cackled along with the rest of Krampus' helpers, who were just about to witness the ultimate experience of their master's humiliation of the human girl.

Cathy looked on at Krampus' helpers with tears in her eyes and let of a muffled cry for help, but none of them heard her. She felt one of Krampus' hands leave her body and heard the rustling of his chains...followed by the clink of a belt buckle...and finally, the removal of his trousers!

The Elves, the demonic toys, and the gingerbread men all cackled at the sight of their master, as he placed his hand back onto Cathy's hip and brought her rump closer to his groin area. The human girl let out an uncomfortable moan, knowing for sure the horrors that were to commence. With an encouraging roar from Der Klown, the torture began.

Cathy closed her eyes and howled in pain when she felt him stick his entire member deep inside her. He was much too big for her to handle. And to make matters worse, the pink flesh of Krampus' penis, which should have been nice and warm, felt as though someone had stuck a huge, sharp icicle into her vagina. Despite her efforts to pull herself away and remove him from within her, Cathy had no other choice but to be submitted to the dark, sadistic fantasy of Krampus' sick and twisted desire. Everytime he pulled himself out and pushed back into her, Krampus would slam Cathy rougher and harder, converting her into a quivering, sobbing mess of tears and blood, which leaked down her legs.

The Elves and the toys cheered at their master fulfilling a much long-needed release of sexual pleasure. Lumpy and Clumpy laughed at the girl's punishment, giggling like a bunch of little schoolboys, while Dumpy looked on with worry. He knew Cathy deserved to be punished, but not this way. Lumpy noticed his young friend's expression and hit him on the back of the head, asking in a disgusted tone, "What's the matter with you?"

Cathy continued to cry and moan at Krampus' brutal and agonizing raping of her virginity. He was hurting her, fucking her to the point where she wished he would just kill her by now. This unwanted feeling of sexual arousal was making her feel sick to her stomach, but was also bringing her onto the brink of something unexplainable happening. A tingling sensation that felt like it was about to erupt from within her like a volcano. Krampus was fucking her more harder and faster than ever, forcing her to cum for him. With one final cry behind her gag, Cathy tensed up her entire body and experienced her first ever orgasm.

Once he was through with fucking her, Krampus removed her gag and heard her wheeze, gasping for breath. He ordered his helpers to release the nude Cathy, who fell limp to the floor, and fainted from both pain and exhaustion.


	10. Chapter 10

As punishment for trying to kill Krampus, Cathy was stuck in her cell for three days. She lied naked on the floor, keeping the thin blanket wrapped tightly around her cold body. She didn't move and she didn't speak. Twice a day, a plate of food was brought to her. Two slices of meat, an old piece of bread, and a candy cane. She ate very little and let the candy canes remain untouched. As she watched the sunset come and go with each passing day, Cathy spent her time thinking about how foolish she had been. As far as she was concerned, she had been raped by more than just an evil shadow of Saint Nicholas. Krampus was a demon. And unless you were a god, you can never win in a battle against a demon. Thinking she would never see her family again, and seeing how there was no sense in trying to escape, Cathy accepted her fate.

By the fourth morning, a giggling noise woke Cathy up. She opened her eyes and sat up slowly and looked over at the barred window. Lumpy, Clumpy, and Dumpy were all standing on the outside. Lumpy was pulling onto the bars and taunting her in a singsong tone of voice. Clumpy slapped his knee in response and laughed himself silly at his friend's mockery of the human girl. Cathy said nothing, but looked away from them and lied her head back down on the floor, pulling the blanket up to cover her shoulder.

Lumpy and Clumpy continued to laugh at her, but Dumpy was the only one who felt sorry for Cathy. He knew what she did was wrong, but Cathy didn't need to be mocked and teased at for it. Although he loved his master and would do anything to please him, Dumpy looked at Cathy like a mother, and his friends were not helping him make it any better.

Without even thinking, Dumpy put on an angry face and slapped Lumpy and Clumpy in their faces. "Cut it out!" Dumpy told them.

Clumpy slapped Dumpy back and asked him, "What did you do that for?"

"You started it", Dumpy argued.

"No, I didn't!" Clumpy told him.

Lumpy glared at Dumpy and turned him around and kicked him in the buttocks with a grunt. Dumpy screamed as he fell into the cell and landed onto the dirt-covered floor. He was not hurt, but he was still mad. Hearing his two friends giggle, Dumpy looked up and saw Lumpy and Clumpy giving each other a high five.

Dumpy stood up on his feet and started ranting and raving in gibberish at his friends, jumping up and down in furious anger. It was more cute than threatening.

Lumpy turned around and wiggled his buttocks, while Clumpy made a funny face at his little gingerbread friend.

Dumpy looked over his shoulder and ran over to a plate that had a half-eaten piece of meat on it. He picked up the candy cane lying next to it and then picked up the piece of meat, tossing it into the air. Using the candy cane as a baseball bat, Dumpy swung it and knocked the meat piece towards Lumpy, who fell off and landed into the snow outside.

"Hey!" Clumpy protested. He pointed to Dumpy and said, "I'm telling the boss on you!"

"Go ahead!" Dumpy dared him, dropping the candy cane for a piece of bread. He tried throwing it at Clumpy, but the wall was too high for him. Instead, the bread bounced off the wall and landed itself onto Cathy's head. She didn't react to it.

Dumpy shrieked and ran over to her. Clumpy gave himself a wicked laugh and then left.

"Cathy! Cathy!" Dumpy exclaimed. He tugged onto the corner of the blanket and asked her, "Cathy, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not", Cathy whispered.

The little gingerbread man climbed on top of her and stood on the back of her left shoulder. He touched her hair in a comforting way and asked her innocently, "Hurt?"

Cathy closed her eyes and put a hand to her tear-stained face and sobbed quietly, "Just go away."

Dumpy looked at her with concern. He wanted to help Cathy very much, but he didn't know what to do.

Just at that moment, the latch to the door was heard being unlocked. Dumpy gasped and jumped off of Cathy, who sat up at once and looked to see who it was. The door opened slowly and, much to her horror, it was Krampus. Lumpy was standing on his right shoulder, cackling.

Cathy quickly scooted herself into a corner far away from him, breathing heavily. The horrifying ordeal of Krampus' assault of her body replayed in her mind.

Dumpy looked at Cathy and then looked at his master, putting on a brave face. He waddled over to Krampus, who looked down at him and growled.

Suddenly, Dumpy lost his courage and dropped down to his knees in front of Krampus, begging, "Please! Please have mercy!" Dumpy stood back up and pointed to Cathy. "She hurt! She scared!" Dumpy got back down on his knees again and begged, "Please help Cathy!" Dumpy put his hands to his face and cried desperately.

"No, no!" Lumpy protested, jumping up and down on Krampus' shoulder. "Don't listen to him! Don't listen! Don't listen! Don't-"

With a simple turn of his head, and with one look from his mask, Krampus had managed to shut up the obnoxious leader of the gingerbread trio. Lumpy laughed nervously to himself and jumped off of his master's shoulder.

Cathy remained where she was, keeping herself covered with the blanket for her own protection. She did not need him to see her naked again.

Krampus lowered his horned head and slowly entered into the prisoner's cell, his chains jingling with each step he took.

Cathy looked away from him and shouted, "No!" Her voice sounded hoarse.

Krampus knelt down somewhat and extended his hand out to Cathy, who waited a minute to see what he would do. Nothing happened. Cathy forced herself to look at him and stared into his eyes. Krampus growled softly and blinked twice. His magenta eyes seemed less brighter this time, though they still held a sense of trust. This was enough to convince Cathy to allow one of her hands to slip out from under the blanket. She took hold of his hand.

Slowly, but carefully, Krampus helped Cathy to stand up on her feet. A sharp pain between her legs caused her to gasp and fall against his massive chest, accidentally rattling his chains. Cathy cried against him and allowed the blanket to slide off her shoulders, covering her breasts with her arms. She felt that if she were to take but one step, the pain would only grow worse. Krampus understood right away what was the problem and gently stroked a claw-like hand behind her back, his long fingernails caressing her bruised hip. Cathy tensed herself up when she felt him do this. With his other hand, Krampus placed it under her knees and picked her up into his arms, holding her bridal style.

Cathy did not have the strength nor the energy to fight him, as she felt herself being carried out of her cell and out into the hallway. She did not know where he was taking her, but still thought it couldn't have been worse than it already was. Cathy closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, almost on the verge of sleep if not unconsciousness.

Krampus walked slowly down to the other end of the hallway and made a left turn to a private room. He came across two large doors with a candy cane striped archway for a frame. The doors opened up by themselves, to which Krampus stepped inside with Cathy. The doors closed behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

Finding herself buried underneath a thick blanket of bearskin and lying down on a comfortable, patchwork-quilted bed, Cathy felt safe and warm for the first time since her capture. She rested her eyes for a few minutes more, hoping to enjoy the bed while she could. After Krampus had brought her out of the cell and into the private room, she had no idea that the bed he placed her down upon was his own. All she remembered was falling asleep in his arms.

A faint splashing noise forced Cathy to turn her head right and sit up straight. The bearskin blanket fell from her breasts.

Krampus was sitting over by what looked like a tub, but it turned out to be a horse trough. The steam was slowly rising from the hot water that filled it. Krampus had dipped his long fingers into the water and was testing the temperature with his hand. He turned his head right and looked over at Cathy, who covered her breasts with her long strawberry blonde hair, her sparkling blue eyes looked sadly at the dark holes of his mask where his eyes were.

Pulling his hand out of the water, Krampus stood up slowly and walked over to Cathy. The chains that weighed him down jingled slightly.

Cathy stared at him for a minute, looking confused and uncertain.

Krampus held out his right hand to her, a soft growl coming from behind his evil Santa-like mask.

Cathy threw the bearskin blanket off of her and placed her feet on the floor. She took Krampus' hand and stood up slowly. She covered her breasts with her arms and allowed Krampus to lead her over to the trough. Cathy wore a pained expression as she walked, the stinging between her legs reminding her of the rape.

Cathy stopped and looked down into trough, feeling the vapors from the steaming water blowing faintly onto her naked body. She then looked at Krampus, who blinked at her. Understanding what he was trying to say, Cathy looked back down at the trough and placed her hands onto the edge. She slowly drew a leg over and into the trough, gasping as the hot water soaked around the limb and into her skin. She waited for a few seconds and lifted her other leg, bringing it into the trough and slowly lowered herself into the bath.

Once she was in, Krampus sat himself down in the chair next to her.

Cathy placed her hands on either side and leaned back in the trough, trying to get herself to relax and take her mind off of the boiling water that engulfed her.

Krampus reached over and picked up a bar of black soap. He then took a washrag and lathered it up until dark bubbles formed on the surface. Cathy was not looking forward to what he was about to do, but thought it was best to keep silent and let him do his work.

Cathy sat up in the trough and hugged her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees and hunching over a bit, as Krampus took the washrag and slowly ran it over her shoulders and on the upper portion of her back. The soap smelled of ash and red licorice. Krampus laved the washrag with more of the black soap and handed it to Cathy to wash herself between her legs. She was slowly starting to notice the pain was fading. After she carefully took care of her lower regions, Cathy set the rag aside and allowed for Krampus to pour a slimy green gel onto her hair, which turned out to be peppermint oil.

After he had finished bathing her, Krampus helped Cathy to step out of the horse trough. He walked away and left her standing there, naked and dripping with water. Cathy covered her breasts with her arms and shivered, as he went to retrieve something for her to wear from an antique wardrobe, though she wondered why he didn't just leave her in an unprotected manner.

Krampus pulled something out of the wardrobe and trudged himself back over to Cathy, his heavy footsteps matching in sync with the jangling of the bells on his chains.

Before she could protest, Krampus extended his long tongue to Cathy and used it to lick up the tiny beads of water between her breasts. Cathy closed her eyes and moaned softly, a look of disgust and annoyance painted her face as he trailed his tongue all the way up to her neck and under her chin.

Krampus laughed sinisterly at her response.

Cathy opened her eyes and looked at him with a glare.

Krampus grunted and turned himself halfway and showed her a piece of clothing in his hand.

Cathy picked up the clothing and held it up to her body to see what it looked like. It was a thigh-length red velvet dress with white fur trimming and a white satin bow around the middle. It had holes in it and looked to be covered in soot. Knowing that her hair was still wet, but still not wanting Krampus to see her naked for one minute more, Cathy pulled the dress over her head and put it on.

Krampus placed a long-fingered hand onto her right shoulder and slowly turned her around so that she could look at herself in the broken mirror. Cathy gasped in shock and saw that the dress was low cut to the point were her breasts were practically popping out. She looked back at Krampus and then looked back at her reflection. She turned herself halfway to check her backside. She wasn't wearing any undergarments, and she doubted Krampus was going to supply her with a pair anytime soon, but at least her butt wasn't showing, and that was all that mattered to her at the moment.

Krampus snorted and turned around and walked away again.

Cathy turned her head and looked at him and saw Krampus was heading over to a small door with scratch marks on it. In big red lettering, the words on the door were painted this: _**KEEP OUT!**_

Krampus stopped himself two inches in front of the door and lifted his head up a bit. He turned himself halfway and looked over his right shoulder and motioned for Cathy to come toward him with his finger.

Cathy swallowed nervously, but did as he commended and walked over to him.

Krampus looked away from her and put his hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly and opened the door.

At first, Cathy thought he was taking her into a torture dungeon, but instead, her eyes beheld a room that looked more like a simple workshop. Dozens upon dozens of snow globes were lined up on the shelves.

Cathy took one step into the room, but then stopped herself and looked back at Krampus for his permission to enter into the domain. Krampus made a "go in" gesture with his hand and grunted in approval.

Cathy walked further into the workshop and gazed around at the many glass balls that were scattered everywhere.

Krampus stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Although it was dark inside his workshop, the half-melted candles that were spread across the room still gave it some form of light. The small fire burning in the fireplace helped, too.

Most of the snow globes, Cathy noticed, each contained a single house, though one of them looked more like the motel from the movie, _Psycho_. Some of the snow globes even had people inside them! Were they trapped? Had Krampus kidnapped them? Or were they simply being watched through some kind of magic portal?

Cathy turned her head left and looked over at the desk hiding in the back of the workshop and noticed a single snow globe that showed a familiar-looking house: her own.

Cathy ran over and looked at the glass orb and saw a frail old man with silver hair wearing a heavy coat walk out through the front door, tucking his hands inside his pockets and sighing. He looked sad, like he was missing somebody very close to him.

"Grandpa?" Cathy could hardly believe what she was seeing. Her eyes widened. "Grandpa! Grandpa!" She called out to him, but he didn't seem to hear her, let alone see her. Cathy picked up the snow globe and shook it, hoping to get her grandfather's attention, but he still could not see or hear her. "Grandpa, it's me! It's Cathy!"

Her grandfather turned around and walked back into the house.

Once he was gone, Cathy dropped down to her knees and cried, hugging the snow globe to her chest.

Krampus came over and stood in front of her.

Cathy looked up at Krampus, who used the tip of his long fingernail to wipe away a tear that stained her cheek.


	12. Chapter 12

Krampus escorted Cathy back to her cell, where she remained for the rest of the day. She did not know what Krampus had planned for her next, but Cathy knew it was best not to disobey him. She had learned her lesson the hard way and did not want to repeat the same mistake. If she was to survive, the human girl would have to dedicate herself to serving Krampus for one full year.

Cathy sat down on the floor and picked up Mr. Leggett. She stared at him for a while, gently squeezing her thumb over the heart-shaped patch on his stomach. She smiled and thought back to the Christmas morning her grandfather had given her the handmade sock monkey. After seeing him through the snow globe in Krampus' workshop and knowing that he was all right and still living, Cathy promised her grandfather that she would see him very much later. She had kissed the glass ball and given it back to Krampus, who placed it back onto his desk. He then helped Cathy to her feet and took her by her hand and took her back to her cell.

 _Thud_.

"Hmm?" Cathy heard something hit the floor and look to her left and saw it was a small white package wrapped in a shiny emerald green ribbon.

"Oh, Cathy", sang a high, cutesy voice.

Cathy looked over at the window and saw Dumpy was standing on the outside, smiling and waving at her.

"Dumpy?"

Dumpy took a long red ribbon he was holding and tied it to one of the bars and used it as a vine to swing down into the cell. "Woo-hoo!"

Cathy dropped Mr. Leggett and caught the littlest gingerbread man in her hands.

"Thank you", said Dumpy, in a high-pitched, singsong voice.

"Aw, you're welcome", said Cathy, smiling at him. She gently pushed one of the frosting buttons on his stomach, making Dumpy giggle.

By now, Cathy was slowly starting to realize that Dumpy was the only one she could identify out of the three gingerbread men. Not only was he the nicest of the bunch, but he was also the smallest of the trio and had the most adorable green eyes. Also, Cathy noticed, that while Lumpy and Clumpy had big buttons of white frosting painted onto their tummies, Dumpy's buttons were smaller and painted red. Because of his indifference with the other two gingerbread, Cathy considered him the baby of the group.

Cathy knelt down on one knee and sat Dumpy down on the floor, to which the little gingerbread man ran over and picked up the package and brought it over to her, holding it up to her and saying, "For you."

Cathy took the little present box from him and looked at it. She then looked at Dumpy and asked him curiously, "What's this?"

"Open it! Open it!" Dumpy exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.

Cathy raised an eyebrow at him, but shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to open the lid. Inside were two Christmas cookies. One in the shape of a tree, and the other one in the shape of a heart. Cathy looked at Dumpy and asked him, "You made these for me?"

Dumpy put his hands behind his back and looked to the floor, kicking one of his little feet in a bashful manner. The pink icing of his dimples and the nervous, childlike giggle indicated to her that meant yes.

Cathy felt tears starting to form in her eyes, and yet a heartwarming smile formed itself across her face. A tear leaked out of the corner of her left eye.

Dumpy looked up at Cathy and gasped in shock, his eyes grew wide and he was afraid he had done something wrong.

Cathy noticed his expression and quickly brushed away the tears that were about to spill from her eyes. She looked at the littlest gingerbread man and said to him in a genuine, heartfelt voice, "Thank you, Dumpy." Cathy kissed the tip of her right index finger and placed it right between Dumpy's eyes.

Dumpy waddled over to Cathy and hugged her around her ankle, making an affectionate sound of love and acceptance.

Cathy smiled at him and gently patted him on the top of his head.

Cathy rose up and looked out the window and made a curious face when she saw something dancing across the sky. A mixture of blue, red, yellow, and green lights were flickering against the nighttime canvas. An aurora of starlight and celestial beams she had only heard about in stories and folklore tales. The sight was breathtaking for her to behold.

"Yoo-hoo!" Dumpy exclaimed, jumping up and down to get her attention.

Cathy looked down at Dumpy and crouched down and set the box on the floor. She picked up the gingerbread man in one hand and placed him on the left corner of the windowsill.

"Ooh", Dumpy exclaimed, his eyes glowing with wonder.

"Look at it, Dumpy", Cathy whispered. "Isn't it pretty?"

The human girl and the little gingerbread man stared up at the Aurora Borealis, watching it as it changed colors and filled the air with a special sort of magic that one could only witness once in an entire lifetime. Cathy stood on her toes and folded her arms and rested them in the windowsill. Dumpy yelped as he hopped up and sat down on her left shoulder, to which Cathy looked at him and tilted her head in his direction, nuzzling him like a mother cat would do to her kitten. The little gingerbread man hugged her face.


	13. Chapter 13

December quickly jumped into January. By now, Cathy was slowly starting to get used to her new surroundings. She went back to working in the small room making toys. Krampus had granted her permission to dine with him and his helpers again, but was not allowed to go anywhere near the kitchen. Cathy understood his decision for doing so and was happy enough to comply to his demand. She got to know more of the Elves and what the rest of their names were, though they were very difficult for her to remember. Once in a while, Nutcracker or Teddy Klaue would assist her with her work, though Perchta didn't seem to think that it was a good idea.

One morning, Cathy awoke to a bellowing noise from Krampus, as well as the jingling of Christmas bells and the rattling of his chains. A thunderous boom shook the whole room and Cathy had a feeling that Krampus was running on top of the roof. She threw the blanket off of her and stood up and went over to look out the window. A raging snowstorm was gathering outside, the cold wind howling in the atmosphere of a desolate winter wonderland.

Cathy turned around and found, much to her surprise, that the door to her cell was open.

Curious to know what was going on, Cathy went over to the door and looked out into the hallway, looking down both directions. She stepped out of her cell and went down the hall and walked down the few steps into the dining room.

A small banquet was placed at the end of the long table. A golden brown turkey covered in herbs, a plate of hot-buttered biscuits, a bowl of green beans and mushrooms, some mince pies, a plate of Christmas cookies in the shape of Santa Claus, and a steaming jug of apple cider. A scroll with a red and white ribbon lied next to the food and drink.

Guessing that it was for her, Cathy picked up the scroll and undid the ribbon. She unrolled the scroll and saw the words were written in royal blue lettering: _Dear Catherine, I am afraid I must away for the day. My helpers will not be here to assist you. You are free to wonder around the castle, but do not leave it. You know the consequences if you fail._

Cathy looked around the dining room. She dropped the scroll and ran out into what she could only describe as a ballroom. It was large and dusty and there were hardly any lights, except for the dying embers burning in the chimney. Cathy looked around the ballroom with a worried expression on her face and tried calling out the names of Krampus and his helpers.

"Krampus?...Dumpy?...Perchta?...Der Klown?"

Cathy hoped that at least one person would answer her, but no sounds or voices came from anywhere.

"Ketkrokur?...Nutcracker?...Teddy Klaue?...Anybody?"

Cathy looked up towards the ceiling and saw a gigantic crystal chandelier covered in cobwebs. She looked back towards the kitchen. She felt her stomach rumble and placed a hand over it. Knowing that she was to be alone for the day, Cathy decided to relax and not worry about it for the time being.

After she helped herself to a small meal, Cathy decided to go back to work in the small room, but found that the door was locked. She then decided to explored the "castle", as Krampus had called it. She didn't think that a creature like him lived in such a place. She explored a few rooms and found the sleeping chambers of the Elves. Cathy decided to go to Krampus' room and look for something a little bit more decent for her to wear, but did not find anything in his closet but a bunch of heavy patchwork robes and furs. She decided to keep the outfit she had on. Afterwards, Cathy found a room where Krampus kept an unusual collection of music boxes and decided to tinkered with them for a while.

Cathy got tired after a few hours of being alone and went back to her cell to take a short nap. She lied on the floor and held Mr. Leggett close to her chest as she pulled the blanket over herself. She rested her eyes, but could not go to sleep. Cathy groaned in frustration and said to herself, "Ah, who am I kidding?" She threw the blanket off and stood up and walked out of her cell, holding Mr. Leggett in her hand.

Cathy went back to the room of enchanted music boxes and took one with a broken ballerina on top of it from off the shelf. She hoped Krampus wouldn't mind if she borrowed it. Cathy then retreated back to the ballroom. She walked over to an old piano and placed the music box on top on top of it. She winded it up and a tinkling little melody began to play. Cathy looked at Mr. Leggett and did a curtsy for him. "Shall we dance?" Cathy asked him. She moved the sock monkey's head to make him agree with her. Cathy walked over to the middle of the ballroom and began to imagine she was reenacting a dancing scene from a play she had scene with her mother.

The music box stopped playing.

Suddenly, something big and heavy smashed itself through the high ceiling. Cathy looked up and ducked out of the way just in time, rolling herself onto the floor. She looked to her left and saw the ceramic-like face of a harlequin snake creature, who waved at her. Cathy screamed and stood up at once, backing herself away from Der Klown.

A nearby window was blown open by the snowstorm. The candles on the chandelier flickered to life with blue flames. Cackling sounds came from up the chimney.

Cathy looked to her right and saw several to a dozen small creatures in ugly masks come flooding out of the fireplace, scattering footprints of soot and ash all over the once-shiny floor. A sinister laugh followed behind the Elves, and soon the likes of Nutcracker, Tik-Tok, Perchta, and Teddy Klaue appeared on the scene. A chain with a hook on the end lowered itself to the floor. High-pitched voices came and the three gingerbread men swung down from the chain, skidding themselves onto the floor. Lumpy, Clumpy, and Dumpy all giggled mischievously.

"Dumpy!" Cathy called out to the littlest gingerbread man.

Dumpy turned around and smiled at her. "Cathy!"

Lumpy frowned and turned to his young friend. "Not again", he grumbled, attempting to grab Dumpy, but he was already way ahead of him.

Cathy dropped Mr. Leggett and knelt down on one knee and held her hand out to Dumpy, who jumped into it. She picked up the little gingerbread man and stood up and asked him, "Where were you guys all day?"

The rattling of chains in the fireplace drew her eyes away from the gingerbread man in her hands, as a pair of very large horns slowly emerged out of the chimney. Cathy knew just who it was and held Dumpy protectively close to her breast. A hand was placed on either side of the fireplace. A hood of red-and-brown patchwork with dirty white fur trimming stood out and placed a heavy hoof onto the floor of the ancient ballroom. The horned creature slowly stood, making himself appear taller than he really was. His hunched back did nothing to help his bulking appearance.

Cathy looked at Dumpy with a worried expression. "I shouldn't ask that question, should I?"

"Uh-uh", said Dumpy, shaking his head. He jumped down onto the floor and went over to stand beside his buddies.

Krampus turned his attention over to Cathy and slowly walked over to her. Once he approached her, Cathy could only look up at him and stare into the abyss of his eyes, dark magenta as usual.

Cathy briefly glanced over at the music box and reached over for it. She held it out to Krampus and told him, "I was going to return it."

Krampus growled softly and reached a long-fingered hand out to touch her hair. Cathy felt shivers run down her spine, but did not let fear show upon her face. Krampus looked at the music box in her hand and turned himself away from her, waving his hand as if he was telling her to keep it.

The Elves looked at each other and followed their master to the dining room. Half of them were speaking in German. Der Klown and the toys followed after them, while the gingerbread men laughed sinisterly and waddled behind. Cathy looked at the music box and then went over to close the window.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning, Cathy awoke and found a blue rectangular present box sitting in the corner of her cell. She undid the shimmering white ribbon and opened the box and gasped when she saw a beautiful pair of red leather boots. She slipped them on and was surprised to find they were just her size, though she wondered why Krampus would give her such a gift. The bauble she understood, but the boots? His job was to take away and punish the naughty. Not to reward them. Cathy knew the reason why she had been taken away, and she knew she deserved the punishment she had gotten, but did not understand why this Christmas demon was suddenly being nice to her.

Her answer came when the door to her cell unlatched.

Cathy looked to the door and saw none other than Krampus himself standing outside, waiting for her.

Swallowing nervously, Cathy walked over to Krampus and, out of respect and gratitude, gave him a slight bow of her head.

Krampus grunted and offered her his hand. Cathy took it and allowed him to escort her out of her cell.

For whatever reason, Krampus took Cathy down the hall and through the dining room and brought her into the kitchen. When asked why he had brought her there, Krampus simply ignored Cathy and turned around and walked away, leaving her behind.

" _Fraulein!_ "

Cathy turned around and saw Ketkrokur standing over by the fireplace, stirring a batch of ingredients into a cauldron of soup. He pointed to her and started speaking in German. He pointed over to one end of the kitchen and then the other. While he spoke, Ketkrokur pointed to the floor and picked up a orange and black lollipop and smashed it on the table with a mallet. He then threw the candy pieces into the cauldron, which flowed out a stream of blood-red smoke.

Confused as ever, Cathy slowly shook her head and told him, "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"He said he wants you to chop the vegetables", said the voice of Perchta.

Cathy turned around and saw the cherub doll with crazy eyes hovering over a small table, her molting wings fluttering to keep her elevated.

"Afterwards, he wants you to get started on making vanillekipferl and don't ruin them, he said", Perchta inclined.

"What's vanillekipferl?" Cathy asked her, shrugging her shoulders.

Nutcracker showed up beside Perchta and explained to Cathy, "Vanillekipferl, my dear, is a crescent-shaped moon cookie made from the extraction of either walnuts or almonds, and are usually dusted afterwards with a heavy topping of powdered sugar."

"I don't know how to make those", said Cathy.

"Yoo-hoo!" Called a high-pitched voice.

Cathy looked over her left shoulder and saw Dumpy standing on top of a heavy cookbook, waving at her. She walked over to the littlest gingerbread man and opened the book for him. Dumpy flipped through the pages for her until he found the recipe on how to make vanillekipferl. Cathy looked over the instructions and said to herself, "This looks easy enough."

" _Jawohl, jawohl_ ", said Ketkrokur. Cathy turned around and saw the grumpy Elf walk over to Pertcha and Nutcracker. He then started to shoo them away and hollered at the two, " _Jetztz raus! Raus, raus!_ "

"You insolent brute!" Nutcracker protested.

"You can't tell us what to do!" Perchta inclined.

Ketkrokur growled at the two and swiped the cherub and nutcracker doll off of the table with the back of his hand. Perchta was able to save herself from falling by using her wings to fly, but Nutcracker ended up landing onto the hard floor and broke off one of his arms in the process.

Cathy screamed in horror at what Ketkrokur had done to Nutcracker, but Dumpy tugged onto her dress and said, "He okay." Cathy looked at the little gingerbread man, who shook his head and told her, "He not hurt."

"Oh, bothersome!" Nutcracker complained, picking up his detached limb. "Now I'll have to ask the boss for a new one again."

"Heads up", said Perchta, who flew over to Nutcracker and clutched one of her birdlike talons onto his hat. She picked him up from off the ground and flew out of the kitchen.

An interruption of giggling made Ketkrokur look up. Cathy and Dumpy looked up as well and saw the other two gingerbread men were sitting on top of a beam. Clumpy and Lumpy jumped down and started swinging around on a pot that was hanging from the ceiling, speaking in gibberish as they reenacted their view of Perchta and Nutcracker's predicament.

Ketkrokur looked over to his left and picked up a potato and threw it up at the pot, hitting it and causing it, as well as a screaming Lumpy and Clumpy, to come crashing down onto the floor. A symphony of clanking metal echoed throughout the kitchen.

Cathy's mouth dropped open at the sight of what happened, but Dumpy simply laughed at his two friends and what they got coming to them.

Lumpy and Clumpy jumped up onto their feet and started bouncing up and down, ranting furiously at the Elf that ruined their fun.

With that, Ketkrokur turned himself on his heel and looked at Cathy, who raised up her hands and told him, "I'll do whatever you say. I promise."

" _Gut_ ", said Ketkrokur. He pointed to the other end of the kitchen and said to her in English, "Now get busy!"

Cathy nodded her head and ran over to the other end of the kitchen. Dumpy jumped down from off the table and followed behind her, waddling.

With delicate fingers, and with help from Dumpy, Cathy was professionally able to make a dozen batches of vanillekipferl. Lumpy and Clumpy helped out a little bit, but when Cathy accidentally misshaped one of the cookie biscuits, Lumpy hit the back of her hand with a candy cane. Cathy did nothing more than glare at the gingerbread man leader and walk away to another station, leaving the trio to finish making the vanillekipferl without her.

Cathy walked over to Gluggagaegir, who was busy adding whipped cream and cherries to a multilayered dark chocolate cake, and asked if she needed any assistance.

Before she could get an answer, Ketkrokur came over to the two of them and held up a bucket. He pointed to Cathy and spoke in German.

Confused, Cathy looked at Gluggagaegir, who spoke to her in English, "I take." The female Elf took the bucket and asked Ketkrokur a question in German.

" _Ja, ja_ ", said Ketkrokur, who waved her off and went back to skewing the oysters.

Gluggagaegir looked at Cathy and said, "Stollen, you bake. Milk, I get."

"Stollen?" Cathy asked her.

Gluggagaegir pointed to a bowl of dough and said in a friendly tone, "Put fruit in bread, _f_ _raulein_."

Cathy looked to her right and saw a cup of dried fruit next to the bowl. "Oh, I get it."

"I return soon", said Gluggagaegir. She turned around and went out the back door, out into the cold.

Cathy picked up the cup of fruit and poured it into the mixing bowl, kneading the dough with her hands as she hummed to herself. She picked up a handful of flour and sprinkled it onto the wooden surface of the table and took the dough out of the bowl and started shaping it into a loaf. She placed it onto a baking tray and went to put it into the oven.

 _Twang_!

Cathy gasped when she heard a noise above her head and looked up. It was an arrow.

A deep laugh and a childish giggle made her turn around. Cathy looked to the ceiling and saw Teddy Klaue and Perchta were standing on a beam. The sharp-toothed teddy bear was holding a small bow and had a quiver on his back.

"What are you doing?!" Cathy yelled at them.

"Don't take it personal, girlie", said Perchta. "We're just target practicing."

Teddy Klaue took another arrow from his quiver and pointed his bow at Cathy, who jumped out of the way just as the arrow was about to hit her. "Stop it! What did I ever do to you?"

" _Bär! Engel!_ " Ketkrokur came over and shouted at the two demonic toys in angry German.

Nutcracker jumped up onto a chair and said to Ketkrokur, "I tried to stop them, but they just don't listen to me."

Cathy heard the gingerbread men arguing and looked over to her left. Dumpy, Lumpy, and Clumpy were all wrestling and hitting each other for whatever reason. Stekkjarstaur ignored the trio as he worked and opened a bottle of cooking wine, pouring it over a chicken.

Cathy looked back up at Teddy Klaue and Perchta. The cherub doll lit a match and set fire to the head of the arrow. The strawberry blonde girl gasped in shock.

"Hey, you little cookie monsters!" Teddy Klaue yelled at the gingerbread men. "Looks like you guys are about to get toasted."

"NO!" Cathy cried. She ran over and pushed Stekkjarstaur out of the way, but accidentally knocked over the wine and drenched the gingerbread men in red alcohol.

Teddy Klaue released the flaming arrow and struck the half-empty bottle, setting off a minor explosion, but still managing to set the trio of gingerbread men on fire. Lumpy, Clumpy, and Dumpy all fell down to the floor, screaming and crying out in pain, their tiny bodies engulfed in flames.

" _Strudel und Creme!_ " Ketkrokur shouted, sounding genuinely shocked.

Cathy looked over at the gingerbread men and saw Clumpy was lying uncomfortably still on the floor. Lumpy was rolling himself around trying to put out his flames, while Dumpy continued scream and run around.

Cathy looked at Ketkrokur and begged him, "Do something! Don't you have any water?"

Just at that moment, Gluggagaegir returned. Cathy looked over at her and saw the bucket, which was filled with milk. Thinking quickly, she stood up at once and ran over to Gluggagaegir, snatching the bucket away from the female Elf. Cathy ran back over to the gingerbread trio and dowsed the white liquid onto them. Lumpy stopped rolling around and Dumpy fell facedown onto the floor. All three of them were deadly quiet.

Cathy dropped the bucket and knelt down to one knee and carefully picked up the littlest gingerbread man into her hands. "Dumpy, are you all right?" She asked him, worriedly.

Dumpy coughed out a little bit of milk and slowly raised a hand up to her. "C...Cathy", Dumpy whispered, weakly. He lowered his hand and tilted his head back, moaning in pain.

"Hold on, Dumpy!" Cathy told him, standing up. Quickly, she carried him over and set him down onto a plate. Gently, she stroked the top of his head and said, "Stay still, okay?"

"Uh-huh", said Dumpy.

Cathy ran back over and knelt down to pick up Clumpy next. The gingerbread man gave a cry of pain when she tried to touch him.

"It's okay", Cathy reassured him. "I'm only trying to help you." She picked him up into her hands and took him over to lie down next to Dumpy.

Going back over for Lumpy, Cathy knelt down and tried to pick up the leader of the gingerbread men trio, but instead, Lumpy bit her.

Cathy pulled back her hand and kissed her finger, tasting the frosting saliva. She looked back at Lumpy, who waved his hand away at her and said, "Go away! Go away!"

Cathy placed her hands on her hips and gave him a look of annoyance. "You really think I'm gonna do that?"

Snatching up the leader of the gingerbread men, Cathy turned around and found herself face-to-face with Krampus. His eyes were dark. Cathy took two steps back away from him.

Without a word of warning, Krampus growled softly at her and raised one of his claw-like hands and slashed open the front of her dress, revealing her left breast. Cathy was not hurt, but still covered her breast and cowered before him. "No, please!" Cathy begged him. Krampus picked her up by the back of her dress and lifted her up effortlessly. "Let me go! I can explain!"

"Wait!" Nutcracker shouted, raising his hands and waving his arms around to get his master's attention. "Don't do it!"

Krampus looked over his right shoulder at one of his toys.

"It wasn't her fault, you see", Nutcracker explained. "It was Teddy Klaue and the cherub who set off the explosion. Catherine McKay was only trying to save the little gingerbread fellows. Luckily, she was able to dowse them in Yule Goat milk and put out their flames."

Ketkrokur spoke something similar to Krampus in his native German, seeming to agree with the nutcracker's statement.

Krampus slowly looked up at the cherub doll and the teddy bear, who jumped down off of the beam and onto the table below. Perchta flew down over to Krampus and asked him, "Who are you going to believe, boss? After all, we _are_ your minions. She's only a human."

Krampus turned his head and looked back at Cathy, who held her breath as to what he might do to her. He looked down and focused his attention on Lumpy, who was still being held in Cathy's hand.

"Ah, she did okay", said Lumpy, sounding like he didn't care.

Krampus looked back at Cathy and held out his free hand, letting her know to release the gingerbread man leader. Cathy nodded her head and handed Lumpy over to him.

With a hiss and a grunt, Krampus tossed Cathy aside like a ragdoll and let her go.

Krampus handed Lumpy over to Ketkrokur and then grabbed Perchta by one of her ears. He picked up Teddy Klaue with his other hand and walked out of the kitchen, his chains jangling as he left.

Stekkjarstaur came over and helped Cathy to stand up. "All right, _f_ _raulein_?"

"Yeah, I'm fine", said Cathy, brushing off the dirt and flour on her dress, hardly noticing the shreds.

Cathy walked over to Ketkrokur, who went to set Lumpy down next to the other two gingerbread men. All three of them were burnt.

Cathy looked at the Elf with tears in her eyes and asked him, "Can you fix them?"

"Fear not, _mein f_ _raulein_ ", said Ketkrokur, stroking her arm. "Gingerbread men, I fix."

" _Fr_ _aulein_?"

Cathy turned around and found it was Gluggagaegir who had spoken. "You want I fix your dress?"

Cathy looked down at where Krampus had slashed her and covered her chest with her arms.

Gluggagaegir offered Cathy her hand. "Come", she said. Cathy took it and allowed the female Elf to escort her out of the kitchen. "Sewing kit, I have."


	15. Chapter 15

In no time at all, Gluggagaegir was able to sew the tear on Cathy's dress and covered the slashes with a white heart-shaped patch.

When Cathy was taken back to her cell that night, she asked what happened to Perchta and Teddy Klaue. Nutcracker informed her that they had both been "disenchanted", meaning that Krampus had taken away their ability to be alive. She did not see them for a week.

Krampus had given Cathy a new task in taking care of the Yule Goats, oxen-like "reindeer" creatures that helped pull Krampus' sleigh. Cathy didn't believe it at first, but once her eyes laid themselves upon the large, bulky beasts of thick fur and heavier horns, she nearly fainted. With help from the Elf who wore the dark birdlike mask, Cathy was able to work with and tame the violent animals.

One morning in February, as she was busy grooming the Yule Goats, Cathy heard a soft crying coming from one of the stables and went to see what it was. Perchta was sitting on a bed of straw, crying.

"What's the matter, Perchta?" Cathy asked her. "Are you okay?"

"No", said Perchta, looking sad. "Today is Valentine's Day and the boss decided to give us the day off. The Elves and the toys are having a celebration in the ballroom tonight, but I don't have a date to go with."

Cathy put a finger to her chin, thinking. She put her hand down and went over to Perchta and knelt down beside her. She picked up the cherub doll and said to her, "Come with me."

Cathy went back into the castle with Perchta and took her into the small room where she worked. The human girl set the angel down on the table and sat down in a chair.

"What are you doing?" Perchta asked her.

"I'm gonna give you a makeover", Cathy answered. She played with angel doll's blonde hair, and tested the wild and messy texture of it. "Well, not much I can do with your hair, I'm afraid. But I do think we should loose the holly."

Cathy removed the tiara of holly from Perchta's head and set it aside on the table next to her. She looked to her right and leaned over and dug through the green sack with white snowflake designs. She found what she was looking for and pulled out a long pink ribbon and used it to tie a bow into into the cherub doll's hair. Cathy took some blue paint and, using a dainty little paintbrush, painted the claws on Perchta's talons. To complete the ensemble, Cathy found a garland of roses in the sack and tied it around the cherub's dress.

"You really think this is going to work?" Perchta asked her.

"I hope", said Cathy.

Later that night, Cathy peaked into the ballroom and looked up toward the ceiling. The chandelier was lit up like a Christmas tree, red and green flames sparking from the wicks of a hundred candles. The ballroom floor had been polished, and even though there was a giant crack split right down the center, the surface was now carpeted by marble. Fifty or so heart-shaped ornaments hung around the golden walls, as well as several strands of red, silver, and pink tinsel. The Elves were dancing along to the classical music of Mussorgsky.

Cathy looked down and asked Perchta, "You ready?"

Perchta looked up and said, "Ready as I'll ever be."

The cherub doll fluttered her dark, molting wings and flew over to the piano where the toys were. Nutcracker, Teddy Klaue, and Tik-Tok were all laughing and talking among each other, when Nutcracker noticed Pecrhta.

"Ah, there you are", said Nutcracker. "We were wondering what happened to you."

" _Beep, beep-bop_ ", Tik-Tok greeted her, waving his hand at Perchta. He dropped his scissors.

Teddy Klaue growled and pushed the two toys aside. He held out his arms and walked over to Perchta.

"Hiya, Teddy", said Perchta, her porcelain skin blushing in the process.

Teddy Klaue took her into his arms and dipped her, growling menacingly, but with a fiendish smile on his grizzly face. "Hey, baby", he said. Perchta opened her mouth and used her serpent-like tongue to lick his nose and one of his eyeballs.

Cathy watched the whole thing from afar, looking disgusted and hardly believing what she was seeing. "You've got to be kidding me", she said to herself.

Cathy felt a gloved hand tap her shoulder. She turned around and saw it was Der Klown.

"Oh, hello, Der Klown", Cathy greeted him.

Der Klown handed her a scroll of parchment.

"What's this?" Cathy asked him, unrolling the scroll. "A letter from Krampus?"

Der Klown clapped in response.

Cathy looked over the scroll and saw the letters were written in fuchsia-colored ink. It read: _Meet me in the bedchamber_.

Cathy looked at Der Klown with a raised eyebrow, suspicious.

Der Klown blinked at her and roared at Cathy, showing off his teeth, sharp and pointy as they were.

"Okay, okay, I'm going", said Cathy, walking around him. She sighed in annoyance and headed off to Krampus' room.

Once she arrived at the door, Cathy knocked and waited for him to answer. The door opened by itself. Krampus was standing over by the window, watching the snowflakes fall from the nighttime sky.

Cathy walked in and placed her hands behind her back. "You wished to see me, Krampus?"

The Christmas demon lifted his head and turned his head left, looking over his shoulder. He growled softly.

The door behind Cathy closed by itself. The seventeen year old girl turned around and looked at it. She looked back at Krampus and asked him, "What are you doing?"

Krampus turned his body around to face her and held out his right hand to her.

Cathy should have known something was up, but nevertheless, she did as she was told and walked over to him and took his hand.

Krampus looked at her and blinked twice, dark magenta staring into sparkly blue. Cathy did not know what he was doing, or why he was looking at her the way he was, but the way she looked at Krampus seemed to have an effect on him.

Krampus turned himself halfway and showed her a golden case standing on the windowsill. He opened the lid and revealed to her an assortment of chocolates. Cathy looked at him with uncertainty. With a nod from Krampus, she was allowed to take one.

Cathy examined the assortment and picked out a heart-shaped milk chocolate. She bit it in half and chewed slowly, savoring the creamy texture. "Mmm", Cathy moaned in satisfaction. She looked at Krampus and said, "Thank you."

Krampus bowed his head in response.

All at once, Cathy started to feel funny, the smile on her face slowly melting away. Within seconds, she forgot who she was. She forgot her name. She forgot all about her friends and her family. She forgot about her grandfather. She forgot about everything, except Krampus. At the moment, he was the only one who existed to her. Krampus had made her into his sex slave.

Seeing the dazed look on her face, Krampus closed the lid on the chocolate box and placed a claw-like hand under her chin, lifting her head up so she could look into his eyes. He growled softly, to which Cathy smiled at him...and proceeded to take off her dress.

Cathy was now completely naked, except for her boots. Just as she was about to take them off, Krampus snorted in annoyance. Cathy looked up at him, to which Krampus placed his right hand onto her left shoulder, his way of telling her to keep them on. As though she was reading his mind, Cathy stood up straight and waited to see what he would do next. Krampus slowly dragged his hand over across her breasts, causing her nipples to stiffen up, making her giggle.

Krampus took Cathy by her arm and brought her over to a table and grabbed hold of her wrists and tied her hands behind her back with a piece of cloth. He placed a hand on the back of her head and had her lean forward, bending her over. Cathy moaned softly when her breasts and nipples made contact with the cold hardwood.

Slowly, Krampus opened his robe and placed his hands onto the sides of her buttocks and positioned himself behind Cathy, slowly thrusting the head of his cock into her pussy. Cathy closed her eyes and gasped softly, feeling no trace of pain. She rubbed herself back and forward against him in a slow rhythm, loving the feel and sensation of her vagina becoming hot and lubricated with each movement.

"Fuck me, Krampus", Cathy whispered, her voice barely audible.

Krampus looked down at her.

"Fuck me, please", Cathy begged him, anxious for more.

Krampus tilted his head slightly to the right and laughed sinisterly. He obliged himself and proceeded to stick his penis further up into her pussy. The look of pain on Cathy's face did not match the pleasurable sounds that were coming from her throat. While the real her would not enjoy what was being done with her body, Cathy did not care what was being done to her at the moment. She wanted more of him, and he would very soon give it to her.

Krampus fucked Cathy good and hard for a few minutes, savoring the moment, but speeding up the process every time another minute passed between them. He loved the thought of her being helpless, the sight of seeing her helpless, and the sound of flesh slapping against each other.

"Spank me, Krampus", Cathy begged him. "Please spank me."

Krampus raised one of his hands and gave the human girl a good slap onto her ass.

Cathy stood up on the tips of her toes and let out a surprised gasp, moaning sensuously at the feel of his claw-like hand squeezing her buttocks. "Spank me again", she breathed out. "Don't stop, Krampus. Spank me, please."

Krampus spanked her again. Cathy gasped and tilted her head back, groaned loudly. Krampus growled and forced her head back down onto the table, her left cheek pressed against the polished wood. Krampus forced Cathy to spread her legs and spanked her four times in a row. Cathy enjoyed the stinging sensation she was feeling, as well as the vaginal wetness that was seeping down from her sex organ.

Cathy felt Krampus spank her again and then felt him place his hand on the back of her leg and move it up painfully slow, a smile spread across her face as one of his long fingers ran up the crack of her curvaceous ass.

Krampus went back to fucking her, occasionally giving her a good spanking. He squeezed both of her ass cheeks, tightening her up and building up her orgasm. Cathy moved herself back and forth to match his movements, completely enraptured and longing for the Christmas demon to continuing thrusting into her.

"Fuck me harder, Krampus. Please fuck me. Oh! Oh, God, yes! Fuck me harder, Krampus! More! More! Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck me! Make me your slut! Yes! Yes! Fuck me! Oh! Oh! Oh! Ohhh!"

Krampus leaned his head back and let out a pleasurable howl, one of both pain and satisfaction. Before he could spill his seed into her, Krampus pulled himself out of Cathy and released his ejaculation onto her back and watched it slide down over her ass and down the back of her legs.

Cathy begged him for more, and Krampus fucked her and filled her with his semen three more times. Eventually, Cathy passed out from exhaustion. Krampus cleaned her up with a damp rag and carried her naked body back to her cell for the night.


	16. Chapter 16

When Cathy awoke the next morning, she turned over onto her side and stretched out and felt her hand brush against the mattress she was lying on. Her head was resting on a small pillow. She opened her eyes and found she was back in her cell. How she got back there, she did not remember. She sat up slowly and looked over towards the window, a mixture of cotton candy pink and baby blue filled the morning sky.

Cathy looked to her left and saw a pearly-white bottle in the shape of a heart sitting on the floor right next to the mattress. She picked it up and saw the label that read: _From Krampus, with love_. Cathy smiled upon reading the message, remembering her sexual encounter last night with the monstrous, goat-like creature. She opened the bottle, and before she knew it, she had drained half the elixir.

The sickening taste of blueberries and peppermint mixed with the red juice of raw meat snapped her out of her trance and brought back all her memories. Cathy recoiled at the taste and threw the haft-empty bottle across the room. She placed the back of her hand to her mouth and tried not to gag. She had no idea why she did that, but she did not remember what happened last night either. Whatever concoction was in that bottle, Krampus had purposely made her forget about him raping her again.

Upon discovering she was naked, Cathy wrapped the think blanket around her and tried to figure out what was going on. She looked over across the room and saw a long white package with a shiny red ribbon lying in the corner. She stood up and walked over and knelt down on one knee. She opened the package and found an over-sized white shirt with long sleeves, a long orange skirt with two brown patches on it, a light brown sash, and a pair of brown peasant shoes.

Soon as she got dressed, two Elves came and tied Cathy's hands together with a long rope. They dragged her out of her cell and led her to the small room to continue her work of making toys. Once they got there, the two Elves untied Cathy's hands and left. Cathy sat down at the table and went to work right away, looking over the list of names Krampus had given her for the day.

Halfway through the list, one name came up that caught Cathy by surprise. An eighteen year old boy who had asked for an action figure of Lex Luther. His name was Archibald Joseph.

"Archie Joseph?" Cathy asked herself. She looked to see what the address was, and sure enough, it was the same address of the boy who lived two blocks down from her house. Cathy placed a fist under her chin and thought about the geek she often ignored at school.

After she completed making sixty or seventy toys, Cathy was fetched by Ketkrokur to help prepare dinner.

Cathy followed Ketkrokur to the kitchen. The Elf instructed her in German, to which she didn't understand. Luckily, Dumpy had followed behind and offered to help her. As long as the little gingerbread didn't interfere with anything, Ketkrokur allowed him to stay.

While Cathy was rolling out a sheet of cookie dough, Dumpy noticed she had a sad, but calculating look on her face, almost as if she was thinking about something.

Dumpy waddled over to her and tugged onto her sleeve. "Cathy?"

"Hmm?" Cathy looked to her left and looked down at the little gingerbread man.

"You okay?" Dumpy asked her, his voice soft and innocent as a child.

"Yeah, I'm okay", Cathy answered him. She looked to her right and reached for a cookie cutter. "I'm just thinking about somebody."

"Ooh?" Dumpy chimed, sounding interested. His eyes grew a little.

Cathy snorted a laugh and said to him, "Oh, come on, Dumpy. You don't want to here about it."

"Tell Dumpy! Tell Dumpy!" The little gingerbread man begged her, jumping up and down.

Cathy sighed to herself and set the cookie cutter down. "Okay, I'll tell you", she said. Cathy sat down in a chair and told him, "Well, you see, I-"

"Oh!" Dumpy exclaimed, jumping off the table and onto Cathy's lap. He jumped down to the floor and waddled over to climb up a sack of powdered sugar cane, leaping up onto another table and diving into a bucket of candy.

Cathy tilted her head to the right, wondering what he was doing.

Dumpy popped up a minute later, holding a gumdrop. He jumped out of the candy bucket and slid down the sack of powdered sugar cane and waddled back over to Cathy, jumping onto her lap again. He sat down on her knee and nibbled on the gumdrop like a little baby holding his bottle.

Cathy giggled at his childishness.

"Okay", said Cathy. "You see, there was this boy I used to walk by everyday at school. He seemed like a nice boy, but I didn't really want to talk to him. Well, one day he came up to me and he asked me if I had a date to the school dance. I told him I already had a date, which was actually a lie."

"What?!" Dumpy asked her, his frosting eyes wide with shock. He dropped the gumdrop.

"Yeah", said Cathy, sounding regretful. "An hour before the dance, he found out the truth from one of the jocks. Archie came up to me and asked me why I lied to him instead of just telling him the truth. I told him it was none of his business and then I called him a loser. He was a nice boy and hurt his feelings by saying some things to him I shouldn't have. Sometimes I wish I could just go back and make up for it, you know. If I could only give him another chance, I-"

" _Fraulein!_ "

Dumpy shrieked and fell backwards, while Cathy stood up at once and turned around to face Ketkrokur, placing her hands behind her back.

Ketkrokur walked over to Cathy and pointed his finger at her. "Cookies need bake! You cut! Now!"

Cathy nodded her head, timidly. "Okay."

Ketkrokur grunted in frustration and walked away.

Cathy turned her head left and looked down at Dumpy, who stood back up on his feet and waved his hand at her, smiling. "Dumpy okay", he said, giggling.

At dinnertime, Ketkrokur assigned Cathy to help Stekkjarstaur and Gluggagaegir set the table and bring out the food. The helpers of Krampus came running into the dining room and each sat down in a chair. While they waited for their master to arrive, the masked creatures in tattered hoods helped themselves to roast beef and Christmas pudding, golden turkeys and skewed oysters, butter and biscuits and mugs of wine.

Just as Cathy was bringing out a pineapple-covered ham, the double doors opened and revealed the towering shadow of Krampus. The Elves stopped their feasting and looked at their master, as he slowly made his way over to the table. He stood in front of Cathy and held out both his hands. Cathy looked at the dish she was holding and then handed it to Krampus. He turned his attention over to Ketkrokur, giving him the ham. The Elf bowed his head to his master and took the silver platter over to the table, sitting down in a chair.

Krampus turned his attention back to Cathy and motioned with his hand for her to sit beside him. He took Cathy by the hand and sat her down in a chair near the head of the table where he sat. With a wave of his hand, he gave the permission for his helpers to continue on with the feast. The Elves ate like pigs.

Cathy turned her head right and looked at Krampus, who made a motion with his hand for her to help herself. Cathy picked up a knife and fork and cut herself a piece of roast beef, the blood-red juices flowing out when she cut into the meat. Cathy added her slice of meat onto a plate, along with some mixed vegetables and some mashed potatoes topped with chicken gravy. While she was eating, Cathy noticed that Krampus was watching her, not eating anything himself. Cathy ignored him, but wished he wasn't staring at her.

Krampus reached over for his goblet and poured some wine into it. He handed it to Cathy, who looked at him. The human girl eyed the goblet, looking scared. She was not of age to consume alcohol. She looked at Krampus again.

"Do you have any water I could drink?" Cathy asked him.

Krampus offered her the goblet again, growling.

"Okay, okay", said Cathy, taking the golden cup. "But I'm only taking a sip."

Krampus snorted in reply.

Cathy looked at him suspiciously and then looked at the red liquid in the goblet. The wine was frothing and the spices were strong, the scent of alcohol was enough to make her sick. Cathy smelled the drink and pretended to take a sip. She made a face of disgust and put a hand to her throat.

Krampus watched her reaction and laughed sinisterly.

Cathy looked at Krampus with anger and tossed the drink onto his face. Krampus stood up at once and let out a howling scream of pain, covering the holes in his Santa mask where his eyes were. The Elves looked at their master.

While Krampus let out another howl of anguish, Cathy reached over for a knife and stood up at once, backing away from the Christmas demon. Two of the Elves stood up and ran over to their master to see if he was all right. Krampus turned around and looked at Cathy, his eyes were glowing.

Frightened, and without even thinking, Cathy dropped the knife by accident and ran out of the dining room. She ran down the hall and unlatched the door to her cell. She opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door and backing away into a corner, breathing heavily. She crouched down to the floor, waiting to see if Krampus or any of his helpers had followed her. Sure enough, she heard the sound of cloven hooves echoing outside. Cathy gasped and threw herself onto the mattress, pulling the blanket over her head.

"Please don't let him come in here", Cathy whispered, desperately. "Please don't let him come in here."

Hearing his heavy chains dragging behind him, Cathy covered her eyes and waited for the horror of Krampus' wrath to knock down the door and drag her out of her cell, possibly to take her away and punish her in front of the Elves again...But nothing happened. She didn't even hear him leave.


	17. Chapter 17

That night, Cathy dreamed about standing on a cliff. She looked out towards the misty sky and the navy blue waters that stretched out towards the horizon, longing for a taste of freedom. A singing voice in the distance was approaching. Cathy turned around and saw an old, dark-skinned man wearing a white omophorion, a traditional robe worn by a bishop. In his hand, he held a long stick with a golden hook on the end. He had a short, white beard and his head was balding. The weary, old man was walking along the trail and looked over at Cathy. He smiled and waved at her.

"Hello, Catherine", said the man.

Cathy waved back and said, "Hello. Who are you?"

The man raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Me? I am Saint Nicholas."

Cathy blinked, looking surprised. "You? I thought Saint Nicholas was-"

"I know what you think of me."

Cathy lowered her head and rubbed her arm, looking embarrassed.

"Do not be ashamed", said Saint Nicholas. "You are only human, as I once was. Believe me. Everybody has their own interpretation of what I once looked liked."

Cathy raised her arm and looked at him.

Saint Nicholas sat down on a nearby bench and asked her, "You would not feel ashamed to sit beside a holy man, would you?"

"Oh, no, I'd love to", Cathy obliged, walking over and sitting beside him. She smoothed out her skirt and intertwined her hands together, resting them into her lap.

"How are you feeling? Cathy asked him, trying to be friendly.

"Do you mean in body or in spirit?" Saint Nicholas asked her.

Cathy shrugged her shoulders and answered, "Both, I guess."

Saint Nicholas chuckled and told her, "My body has been at peace for over sixteen-hundred years, but my spirit still lives on to this day."

"Wow!" Cathy exclaimed. "I didn't know you lived that far long ago."

"Oh, yes", said Saint Nicholas. "Even from an early age, I was very religious. There are many things about me that not everybody knows about."

"Like what?" Cathy asked him.

"Did you know I was the only son of wealthy Christian parents?" Saint Nicholas asked her.

Cathy shook her head and answered, "No, I didn't know that."

"But I was", said Saint Nicholas. "When they died in an epidemic, I was brought up and raised by my uncle, who was the abbot of a monastery. After many years of living by the word of God, I became a priest. I traveled to many different lands praising the faith of Christianity, I saved three children from being butchered to death, and I provided a poor man with three pouches of gold for his daughters so they could each get married."

"Wow! I never knew that about you", said Cathy. "I just thought you gave toys to children like Santa Claus."

The bright smile on the face of Saint Nicholas disappeared. "You are half right, but please do not mention that name in front of me."

Cathy nodded her head and said, "Yes, sir."

"It is true that I often gave gifts to children, but did you know that I also gave gift to the likes of thieves?" Saint Nicholas asked her.

"Uh...No", said Cathy, looking confused. "Why did you do that? Was there a reason?"

"There is a reason for everything, is there not?" Saint Nicholas asked her.

Stunned, Cathy could only nodded her head in reply.

"The reason I did this was so that they could have a chance to make themselves better people and turn their lives away from crime", Saint Nicholas explained to her. "Do you know why I have come to you, Catherine?"

Looking scared, Cathy said nothing to him and shook her head, slowly.

"I came to you, because you had renounced your faith in the birth of Jesus. You always loved Christmas, but when something bad happened to your grandfather, you became angry. You filled your heart with hate. And thus, you summoned a monster. A demon."

"You mean Krampus?"

"Yes. Krampus is a demon, Catherine. Do not give into his devilry. He has been testing you, and so far, you have survived."

"Survived?" Cathy questioned him. "Do you have any idea what he's done to me!?"

"Yes, I do know", said Saint Nicholas. "But he has not killed you yet, has he?"

"No, but-"

"What does not kill you only makes you stronger. Am I wrong?"

Cathy paused for a minute. She lowered her head and said in a quiet voice, "No."

Saint Nicholas placed the tips of his finger under her chin and brought Cathy's head up. "You must not give into him, Catherine", Saint Nicholas warned her. "He will claim your soul, unless you regain your faith."

"But what can I do?" Cathy asked him. "I tried escaping him once and it didn't work. God knows what will happen if I try again."

"Yes, but that does not mean you cannot pray to Him", Saint Nicholas informed her.

Cathy blinked and asked, "What do you mean?"

Saint Nicholas placed a hand onto her shoulder and said, "If you talk to God, He will listen to you."

Cathy thought about it for a minute. She sighed to herself and said, "I don't know, Saint Nicholas. I wasn't exactly raised in that way."

"There is no better time to start", Saint Nicholas encouraged her. "Just remember: you must have faith, Catherine. Be patience and God will take care of you. You grandfather prays for you everyday. It would be wise if you thanked him back."

And with that, the man known as Saint Nicholas rose up from the bench and started to walk away. Cathy sat there for a minute, thinking. Suddenly, her eyes became wide.

Cathy stood up at once and called out to Saint Nicholas, "How do you know what my grandfather?"

Saint Nicholas stopped himself, but did not look back at her.

"Is he...?...I mean, he's not..." Cathy was too afraid to finish her sentence and too afraid to find out the answer.

Saint Nicholas turned around and looked at Cathy. "You grandfather lives", he answered her. "He is undergoing treatment and looks to be alive. He will not die today, nor will he die tomorrow."

Cathy closed her eyes and placed a hand over her heart, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank God", she said.

Saint Nicholas smiled at her and said, "Exactly."

Cathy opened her eyes and looked at Saint Nicholas one last time, watching the man leave as he continued walking along the trail, humming.

A strong breeze picked up and blew Cathy's long, strawberry blonde hair in the wind. She looked down and saw the grass fluttering at her feet. She turned her head right and watched as the mist came rolling in towards the cliff.


	18. Chapter 18

When Cathy awoke the next morning, she sat up in her mattress bed and looked down at herself and found a gold chain hanging from around her neck. It had two charms on it: one was a cross, and the other was a coin with the image of a man holding a Shepard's crook.

When two Elves came to collect her, Cathy hid the necklace by tucking it down into the front of her shirt. They took her to the small room and left her to do her work.

Instead of making toys, Cathy was given a new assignment of decorating Christmas ornaments. The three gingerbread men came waddling into the room, giggling as usual, and jumped themselves onto the table. Lumpy was the first to speak.

"Cathy, we help paint?" Asked the leader of the gingerbread trio.

Cathy was surprised to hear him asking her nicely for a change, but didn't think much about and said, "Yes, you guys can help me paint the ornaments."

The gingerbread men all whooped and jumped up and down with excitement.

Cathy walked over to a shelf and took down a box of glass balls to start with. She walked back over and set the box down on the table, to which Dumpy, Lumpy, and Clumpy all jumped into the box and each took out an ornament. Cathy sat down in a chair and started her work. For her first ornament, Cathy took some gold-colored paint and then used a dainty little brush and painted some white swirly designs onto it. She took her time in painting the ornaments with intricate details and fancy designs, giving them the appearance of a Fabergé egg. Once she was finished with the first ornament, Cathy stood up and went to set the glass ornament on the shelf to dry.

The human girl continued with decorating the ornaments like a professional painter, while the gingerbread men sloppily painted theirs like schoolchildren. Just as she was painting some gold designs onto a pink-colored ornament, Cathy heard the gingerbread men starting to hum Christmas songs and looked over at them. She saw Lumpy look over at Dumpy and saw him raise his paintbrush over his head. Before the leader of the gingerbread trio could hit him, Cathy snatched the paintbrush away from Lumpy.

Lumpy looked up at Cathy, frowning. "Hey! What's the big idea?"

"I saw what you were about to do there", Cathy scolded him.

Lumpy jumped up and tried to take back his paintbrush, but Cathy refused and moved it out of his reach.

"Give me it!" Lumpy demanded, getting angrier by the second.

"Not until you apologize to Dumpy", said Cathy.

"I said give it!" Lumpy shrieked, jumping at Cathy, who stood up and moved out of the way just in time.

Lumpy screamed as he went flying into the air and landed headfirst into the green sack. Dumpy and Clumpy turned around and dropped their paintbrushes, running over to the edge of the table.

Cathy opened the green sack all the way and looked into it, squinting her eyes in anger at the gingerbread leader, who was all wrapped up in a tangle of ribbons. Dumpy and Clumpy laughed at their friend's misfortune.

Lumpy struggled to get himself free and looked up at them. "Help me!" Begged the leader of the gingerbread men.

"Hmm", Cathy scoffed at him, but reached in with her hand and pulled out the tangled-up gingerbread man, along with a small wooden box that was attached to the ribbon. Cathy softened her face and took note of the little wooden box. "What's this?"

Setting the ribbon-trapped Lumpy and the wooden box onto the table, Cathy sat back down and took a pair of scissors and freed the gingerbread men leader. She then opened the small wooden box and gasped when she saw what was it in. Rubies and diamonds, emeralds and quartzes, sapphires and pearls. It was a little treasure chest.

"Oh, my-"

Before Cathy could get another word out of herself, Dumpy, Lumpy, and Clumpy all started digging through the little treasure chest and each collected an armful of gemstones. They returned to their ornaments and started gluing the gems onto their messily-painted glass balls, humming continuously. Cathy stared down at the little treasure box for a minute, her eyes sparkling in wonderment. She picked up a single crystal and looked at it, wondering if it was real.

A few hours went by and the ornament-making process was already halfway done. By now, Cathy had decorated over fifty to seventy glass balls and even found some other materials in the green sack to make them look more creative. While adding some gold sequins onto an ornament covered in green velvet, Cathy heard commotion coming from Lumpy and Clumpy. She turned away from her work and looked to her right. The duo had taken a break and were now battling each other with candy canes. Cathy smiled at the mischievous bunch and shook her head, thinking it was cute, but silly all the same. She returned her focus back to decorating the ornaments.

"Dumpy, could you hand me that ribbon, please?" Cathy asked the littlest gingerbread man, as he just finished adding half a container of silver glitter onto his blue-painted ornament ball.

"Okay", said Dumpy. He tossed the empty container aside and picked up a roll of red and green ribbon and walked over to Cathy, handing it to her.

"Thank you, Dumpy", said Cathy. She turned her head right and looked back over at the other two gingerbread men, who were now wrestling each other near the shelf. "Could you two stop fighting next to those ornaments! I just painted those!"

The shattering of a single glass ball and the cackling of the two gingerbread minions made Cathy face palm herself.

At that moment, the door opened. Cathy gasped and looked straight ahead and saw the shadowy figure of Krampus standing in the doorway. He was holding a plate of food in one hand and a wineglass in the other.

"Oh, no", said Cathy with dread.

The gingerbread men trio screamed. Dumpy jumped down off of the table and ran out of the room first. Lumpy and Clumpy jumped to their feet and followed right behind him, but because he didn't pay attention to where he was going, Lumpy ended up running straight into the wall. He staggered backwards a little bit, but shook his head and ran out of the room, calling out to his two friends, "Hey! Wait for me!"

Cathy remained sitting where she was, frightened by the massive goat-like creature that approached her, the familiar sound of jingling baubles accompanied him as he slowly trudged himself over to the human girl.

Krampus set the plate of food and the wineglass down on the table in front of her. The beverage in the wineglass was a deep purple color and smelled strongly of blood. Cathy remembered the last time Krampus offered her a drink of alcohol and looked up at the Christmas demon, who stared back at her and blinked twice. He made no sound.

Cathy looked at the wineglass and picked it up with a trembling hand. She was not sure what Krampus was up to, but fearing a repeat of what happened at dinner last night, Cathy decided to take an actual drink of blackberry wine just to please him. The wine had a bittersweet and sour taste to it, as though someone had taken age-old grape juice and mixed it together with distilled liqueur.

"Mmm, it's very sweet", Cathy commented, setting the wineglass down.

Just as she was about to help herself to some food, Krampus placed one of his long-fingered hands onto her wrist, a soft growl coming from behind his mask. Cathy looked up at Krampus again, but then the horned creature looked away from her and circled around behind her with a grunt. Feeling a hand being placed onto her shoulder, Cathy felt herself tense up.

"What do you want from me?" Cathy asked him, trembling in fear.

Krampus released his grip on her wrist and brought his hand up to her face, turning her head left and facing it up towards him. Krampus hissed at Cathy and extended out his tongue, licking the side of her face. Cathy closed her eyes and turned her head away, whimpering from the uncomfortable feel of his tongue coating her cheek with his saliva.

Krampus tilted his head and looked at her for a moment. He enjoyed seeing the fear on her face. With another soft growl, Krampus released Cathy and walked away from her. Cathy opened her eyes and looked over at Krampus. He looked over the ornaments on the shelf that she and his gingerbread minions had made.

"Did I get it right?" Cathy asked him, nervously.

Krampus turned his body halfway and looked at her. Cathy knew he would not say or tell her anything, but when Krampus looked back at the ornaments and waved his hand in an arrogant fashion, he turned himself around and started heading towards the door. Cathy breathed a huge sigh of relief and placed her elbows onto the table, hiding her face into her hands. She took it as a sign of his approval.

Soon as he stepped into the doorway and was about to head out of the workroom, Krampus stopped himself in his tracks and let out a low, menacing growl. It sounded like a cross between a trill and a bear's roar.

Cathy looked up and asked him, "Krampus?"

Krampus lifted his head and stood there for a minute. Finally, he lowered his head and slowly reached into his left sleeve for something. Cathy stood up and tried to see what he was doing. Krampus turned around and held up a silver and gold snow globe for her to see. It had rubies around the base of the dome.

"A snow globe from your collection?" Cathy asked him.

Krampus lowered his head and slowly made his way back over to Cathy, his chains jingling slightly. The baubles sang each time he took a step. Without looking at her, Krampus handed the beautifully-decorated snow globe to Cathy, who took it from him and looked at it. Inside the globe was a house that looked no different than her own. It bit more festive perhaps. In the topmost window, a teenage boy looked outside from his bedroom and closed the curtains. Cathy recognized him at once.

"Archie?"

A minute later, the teenage boy, who Cathy knew as Archie Joseph from her high school, walked out through the front door dressed in a heavy black coat and red scarf. He raised his hand as though he were waving at somebody and then disappeared from inside the dome.

Cathy heard Krampus growling again and looked up at him. His magenta eyes were bright with anger.

Suddenly understanding what he was trying to say to her, and detecting a hit of jealousy in the way he was snarling, Cathy shook her head and said, "He doesn't mean anything to me."

Krampus roared like a lion and swiped the food and drink off of the table, knocking it down to the floor along with the art supplies. Cathy backed away at once, clutching the snow globe close to her breast.

"Why do you care if I know him or not?" Cathy asked, more annoyed than afraid.

Krampus did not answer her. Instead, he pointed a finger at her and hissed at her again, his eyes turning the color of blood and fire.

Cathy slowly backed away from him, failing to hide her fear of Krampus. She had an uneasy feeling deep down in her stomach that he wanted her for more than just another one of his workers. It Krampus was trying to tell her what she thought he was trying to tell her, she did not want anything to do with him.

Cathy felt her back hit the wall and looked down at the snow globe. Suddenly, she got an idea. Setting the snow globe down on the floor for a minute, and just as Krampus raised his claw-like hand to strike her, Cathy reached down the front of her shirt and pulled out the cross and coin on her necklace for him to see.

"Get back!" Cathy warned him.

Krampus seemed to freeze upon seeing the two items on her necklace. He let out a horrible shrieking sound and leaped into the air, blasting himself right through the roof.

Cathy ducked and threw her arms over her head to protect herself from any fallen debris. She was not hurt, but did receive a light dusting of snow and soot. She heard Krampus hollowing outside. Cathy lowered her arms and looked up at the giant hole Krampus had made in the ceiling. She did not understand why he reacted that way, but perhaps because he was a demon, Cathy figured that Krampus, much like werewolves and vampires, could not stand the sight of holy objects. She did not think it would work, but it did. Cathy looked down and picked up the snow globe and looked at it again. She looked up towards the sky and said, "Thank you, Saint Nicholas. And thank God, too."


	19. Chapter 19

For months after his fit of jealous and attempt to hurt her again, Krampus made sure to distance himself from Cathy as much as possible. The human girl did not question it, for she was glad to be rid of him. Because she wore the cross and the coin with the image of Saint Nicolas on it, the Christmas demon would not touch her. Everyday was almost the same retinue for Cathy since then. Every morning, two of the Elves would come to her cell and take her to the small workroom. She would make the toys on the lists Krampus had written for her, wrapping them in brightly-colored paper and sparkly bowes. At dinnertime, and because Krampus had demanded it, Cathy would sit down at the far end of the table and eat in silence, ignoring him. When taken back to her cell for the night, Cathy would turn towards the window and drop down to her knees and pray.

One morning in late October, Cathy was awoken by a loud knock on the door. She sat up at once and asked, "Hello?"

She waited for a minute, but there was no answer.

Cathy threw the blanket off of her and stood up and went over to the door. She put her ear to the door and listened, but there seemed to be no sound coming from the outside. She knocked on the door and asked, "Is someone there?" Cathy waited for another minute, but nobody answered her. She gave herself a look of confusion and turned around, only to let out a small gasp of surprise.

Lying in the right corner of her cell, there was a red present box wrapped in an emerald green ribbon. Cathy walked over to it and knelt down and looked over the package before undoing the ribbon. She opened the box and found an orange envelope with her name written on it. She picked up the envelope and turned it over. She broke the pumpkin-shaped seal and opened the letter and found the words written in black ink: _You will wear this for the day and have fun. No working. Happy Halloween._

Cathy looked at the clothing in the box and pulled it out and found it was a beautiful pink and white dress. A silver and pearl brooch was pinned on the bodice.

Once she put on the gown, which exposed her shoulders, Cathy heard a knock on the door again and turned around. The door opened by itself and showed her Der Klown. He waved at her. Cathy swallowed nervously, but put on a faint smile and waved back. "Hello."

Der Klown made a "come forward" motion with his hand. Cathy walked over to him and went out into the hall. The door slammed by itself, causing her to gasp and jump a bit. Der Klown held his hand out to her. Cathy looked back at Der Klown and took hold of his hand and allowed him to escort her down the hallway and down the steps and into the dining room.

The Elves were sitting in their chairs at the long table, each one carving a deformed face into a humongous pumpkin, using knives and hammers and chisels. The thick shells of the jack-o'-lanterns were being plucked and gutted, as the Elves removed the pulpy innards meshed with teardrop-shaped seeds. The golden juices of the pumpkins coated their hands as they plopped the messy stuff onto the table or tossed it over their shoulders.

Although they continued to wear their unholy masks, the Elves had changed out of their heavy coats and hooded robes for somewhat normal-looking costumes. One of them was dressed like a teddy bear, while another one dressed up like a dragon. One of them was dressed up like a robot. The Elf with the dark birdlike mask had donned a black suit and derby, looking not quite like Charlie Chaplin, but was still enjoying the spirit of the autumn time festivities. One of the female Elves was dressed up as a witch.

Cathy kept her eyes on the Elves as she walked alongside Der Klown and followed him into the kitchen.

Ketkrokur, who did not put on a costume, but still wore a green leprechaun hat, was standing over by his favorite cauldron, stirring a batch of hot chocolate. Cathy approached him and said, "Happy Halloween, Ketkrokur."

Ketkrokur turned around and looked at her. "Ah, _f_ _raulein_!" For once, he actually sounded glad to see her. Ketkrokur picked up a wooden spoon and handed it to Cathy. "You taste. You try."

Meanwhile, Gluggagaegir, who was dressed in a black wig and kimono, was busy preparing a tray of heart-shaped, raspberry-filled, sandwich cookies topped with powdered sugar. She walked away to retrieve something and came back just in time to see Der Klown attempting to grab one of the cookies. She slapped his gloved hand and started cursing him in German, to which Der Klown opened his sharp-toothed mouth and roared at her in protest.

Stekkjarstaur, who was dressed up like a sea monster, came into the kitchen with a bucket of candy and walked over to Gluggagaegir and calmed her down. " _Nien, nien, mein liebe_ ", he spoke to her. Then he said to her in perfect English, "Do not let the clown upset you so. Give him at least one of your delicious Linzer."

Gluggagaegir sighed, but picked up one of the Linzer cookies and tossed it at Der Klown, who caught the Christmas cookie in his mouth.

Cathy ignored the commotion and sampled a spoonful of hot chocolate, tasting the warm and creamy thickness of the sweet drink that melted in her mouth.

"It's good", said Cathy, handing the spoon back to Ketkrokur. "But I think it needs just a little bit more spice."

Ketkrokur looked at the batch of chocolate boiling in the cauldron and stroked the chin of his mask. " _F_ _raulein_ might be right", he said. Suddenly, Ketkrokur turned around and shouted, "Klown! _Hol die karotten!_ "

Der Klown saluted him and slithered over to a corner and began digging through a barrel for something. He tossed out radishes and turnips and beets and strings of peas. Finally, he found what he was searching for. Der Klown pulled out a couple of carrots and slithered over to Ketkrokur.

Ketkrokur took the carrots from Der Klown and saluted him. " _Mein dank, mein freund_ ", he said. Der Klown slithered away and went out of the kitchen.

Ketkrokur looked at Cathy and ordered her, " _Fraulein_ , fetch the creme."

Cathy nodded her head and went over and picked up a bottle of milk from off the shelf. She walked over to Ketkrokur, who was chopping the carrots on a cutting board, and asked him, "You want me to pour this into the cauldron?"

"Just one drop", said Ketkrokur.

Cathy went over and dropped a tiny bit of milk into the cocoa drink, which foamed instantly.

Ketkrokur came over a minute later with the cutting board and slid the carrots into the cauldron. Cathy widened her eyes and opened her mouth, a look of shock and disgust etched into her face. She dropped the milk bottle, shattering it. Ketkrokur paid it no attention and stirred the ingredients, humming happily. The warm drink was starting to smell of pumpkin spice. Cathy never fully understood how things worked in the world of Krampus, let alone the food.

Ketkrokur dipped the wooden spoon into the hot chocolate batch and offered Cathy another sample.

"Uh...N-no, thank you", Cathy politely declined.

"Oooohh, _oooohh_ ", moaned a familiar voice.

Cathy looked around the kitchen and asked, "What is that?"

Ketkrokur tapped her shoulder and pointed to the floor. Cathy looked at him and then looked down and saw somebody was tugging onto the sparkly overskirt of her dress. Three little ghosts, who turned out to be the gingerbread men, had covered themselves in white silk napkins. The smallest of the trio lifted his napkin sheet up and waved at her. "Yoo-hoo!"

Cathy giggled at littlest gingerbread man and knelt down. She cupped her hands together, to which the enchanted Christmas cookie jumped into her palms. Cathy raised him up and told him, "Happy Halloween, Dumpy. I like your little ghost costume."

Dumpy giggled underneath his napkin sheet and kicked his foot in embarrassment. "Thank you", he peeped.

"Come on, Cathy. Let's go outside and play", said Lumpy, jumping up and down with excitement He pulled onto Cathy's dress again and said, "Fun and games! Fun and games!"

"Yeah, let's go!" Said Clumpy, running over to the door.

"All right. I'm coming", said Cathy. She placed Dumpy onto her shoulder and followed the other two gingerbread men over to the door near the back of the kitchen.

Once she opened the door and stepped outside, Cathy felt something cold hit the side of her head. She turned around fast and saw Teddy Klaue holding a snowball. He was wearing a royal blue waistcoat and black pants with gold trimming. With a evil smile, Teddy Klaue tossed the snowball into the air and caught it before throwing it at Cathy, who ducked just in time.

A shrieking noise, almost like a yelp, indicated to her that the deranged bear had hit Perchta instead. Cathy stood up and turned around again. The crazy-eyed angel doll, who had swapped her white dress for a golden ballgown, was lying down in the snow. She sat up at once and shook her head, growling. She looked over at Teddy Klaue and said, "What was that for?!"

"I wasn't trying to hit you, doll", said Teddy Klaue, preparing to make another snowball. "I was trying to hit the girlie in pink."

"Girlie, huh?" Cathy questioned him, a sly smile on her face. Dumpy jumped down off of her shoulder, while Cathy crouched down and grabbed a handful of snow, scooping it up and rolling it into a ball. Just when she was about to throw it at Teddy Klaue, Cathy felt another snowball hit her again, this time on the back of her head. She turned around and saw a doll-sized figure dressed up in a suit of shining armor. The knight lifted his helmet and showed her the blood red eyes of Nutcracker.

"Have at you, my good woman!" Nutcracker proclaimed, pulling out his sword. "Alas, you have picked the wrong day to mess with the likes of-" The wooden soldier's words were cut off short, as the three gingerbread men dressed up as ghosts piled on top of him, laughing and wrestling him into the snow.

"Get off me, you sugar and spice abominations!" Nutcracker demanded, but the gingerbread men ignored him.

After two hours of playing out in the snow, Cathy, the toys, and the gingerbread men all decided to head back inside for the evening. While Dumpy, Lumpy, and Clumpy were warming themselves up by the fire, Cathy was sitting down at a table with the toys. She and Teddy Klaue and Perchta all laughed at a Halloween joke Nutcracker just told them.

"I gotta say", said Teddy Klaue, placing on arm around Perchta, who leaned herself against his shoulder. "This was probably one of the funnest Halloweens I've ever had."

"Just think", said Nutcracker. "Pretty soon, we'll all be back to doing what we're best at."

"What, kidnapping people?" Cathy asked, helping herself to some candy corn.

"Reminding those who have forgotten about the Christmas spirit", Nutcracker answered.

"Yeah, we might turn mean and aggressive around Christmastime", said Perchta, "but on Halloween, we make sure we have fun and follow the rules and traditions of the season."

"If we don't", said Teddy Klaue, "then we get visited by the Great Autumn Spirit for not following the rules and he punishes us."

"The Great Autumn Spirit?" Cathy asked him, sounding fascinated. "Who's he?"

" _Nooo!_ " Cried out a mechanical voice. Tik-Tok, who had been suffering from a cold all day and did not want to partake in the fun and games with his friends, came wheeling into the kitchen. Cathy looked down and picked him up. " _Beep-beep! We do not speak of him! Beep!_ "

"Why?" Cathy asked him. "Does the Great Autumn Spirit scare you more than Krampus or-"

A sharp knock at the door interrupted her sentence.

Cathy turned her head right and said, "Coming." She placed Tik-Tok onto the table and stood up and headed over to the door. She opened it.

There was a small child standing outside on the doorstep. An innocent-looking trick-or-treater, or so she thought. The child was wearing orange footie pajamas with a burlap sack over his head. The burlap sack had black buttons for eyes and a sown mouth in the form of a smile. In one hand, he was holding an old, dirty pillowcase, most likely filled up with candy. In the other, he was holding a pumpkin-shaped lollipop that looked like he had bitten into it.

"Hello", said Cathy, smiling. "Are you new here? I don't think I've ever seen you around before. My name is Cathy. What's yours?"

The boy did not answer her. He did not even move.

"Don't worry", Cathy reassured him. "I won't bite. Do you want some candy?"

The boy held up his pillowcase at once and opened it.

Cathy giggled and said to herself, "I thought so. All right, let me just grab the-" Just when she turned around to go get the candy bucket, Cathy blinked in surprise to find that she was now all alone in the kitchen. The toys were no longer at the table. The gingerbread men were not over by the fireplace. Even Ketkrokur seemed to have vanished.

"Where did they go?" Cathy asked herself. Setting the question aside, she shrugged her shoulders and went over to retrieve the bucket. She turned around and walked back over to the door and said to the boy, "Trick or treat and happy Halloween, little guy. Help yourself."

The boy in the burlap sack put a finger to his sewn mouth, wondering which piece of confectionery to choose. He picked out a chocolate-covered marshmallow treat in the shape of a ghost.

Cathy turned around and went to set the bucket of candy back on the table. She thought she heard a cat meowing and turned back to look at the boy.

"Did you say something?" Cathy asked him.

The boy remained silent.

Curious to know about him, Cathy walked back over to the boy and knelt down to his level and asked him, "Who are you? Are you the Great Autumn Spirit?"

The boy slowly nodded his head in reply.

Cathy nodded her head in understanding and stared at him for a minute. She looked over his costume and laid her eyes upon the rope tied around his neck. Just as she reached over for the rope on the burlap to untie it, the boy grabbed at her wrists and shook his head.

"Come on. Let me see your face", Cathy insisted. She untied the string of rope and removed the burlap sack from the boy's head. Cathy took one look at his face and felt her eyes widen in fear. She soon let out a blood-curdling scream, dropping the burlap sack and backing away from him. The boy's head was round and smooth like a pumpkin, but his face was all messed up and decaying like a corpse. He looked like a combination between Jack Skellington and the alien creature from the _Pumpkinhead_ movies.

Cathy ran straight out of the kitchen and out into the dining room. She slipped on some leftover pumpkin mush and fell face down onto the floor. She looked over her shoulder and gasped when she saw dozens of flaming pumpkins decorated all around the table, as well as hundreds of blood splatters on the wall. Cathy got right back up on her feet and took off again. She ran up the ten steps and down the hallway. Soon as she reached the door of her cell, Cathy was horrified to find that the door was locked from the outside. She pounded on the door and tried to pull it open, but it was of no use. She heard giggling echoing in the distance behind her and took off running again.

Cathy made a left turn once she got down to the end of the hall and found two large doors with a red and white striped archway. She opened one of the doors and stepped inside, shutting the door and looking through the keyhole, breathing heavily. She waited for a minute to see if the pumpkin-headed boy had followed her. She saw and heard nothing.

Cathy closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the door, placing a hand over her beating heart and taking a deep breath. She opened her eyes and turned around just in time to see Krampus standing right behind her. He looked down at her and gave a low growl. Before she could move or say anything, Krampus grabbed Cathy by her arm and started dragging her over to the bed.

"No, please!" Cathy begged him, trying to loosen his grip on her. "You don't understand! There's this boy out there! He's going to-"

Krampus looked at Cathy and hissed at her. He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her violently. Cathy did not flinch, even when Krampus let out a rage-filled scream and lash his tongue at her.

At that moment, Krampus felt something wet and sticky hit the back of his patchwork robe. He turned around and looked down at the floor and saw half of an eggshell. He felt another egg hit one of his horns and looked up.

Cathy looked over and saw the boy standing near the candy cane striped doorway, his burlap sack mask back on his head. She had found herself caught between the demonic Santa Claus and the murderous-looking, pint-sized, childlike, humanized version of the Great Pumpkin.

"What are you?!" Cathy shouted at him.

The boy still did not say anything. He did, however, flip his middle finger at both of them.

Cathy and Krampus looked at each other, to which the human girl fainted in the monster's arms.

The boy put his hand down to his side and left.


	20. Chapter 20

The snow fell softly outside the window next to the bed of Krampus. Lying on top of a bearskin blanket, Catherine Emily McKay stirred in her sleep. She turned over onto her right side and slowly opened her eyes, awakening to the sound of jingling bells. She thought about the monster she encountered last night and wondered: Was he a kid or the embodiment of Halloween?

Cathy sat up in bed and looked around Krampus' bedchamber. She looked down at herself and found she was still wearing the pink dress he had given her. She had slept all through the night, untouched and undisturbed.

Cathy threw her legs over to the side of the bed and stood up and walked over to the scratched-up door with the " _Keep out_ " sign on it, which was slightly open. For a moment, she hesitated. Taking a deep breath, Cathy decided to face her fears and knocked on the door. The door opened all the way by itself. She went inside.

Looking around the workshop, Cathy saw the same set of snow globes aligned on the shelves. She walked over to one shelf and was about to place her hand onto the snow globe that held her house inside, but turned her head right when she heard a familiar growl. Cathy took a step back and looked over toward the back of the workshop. Krampus was sitting at his desk, a candelabra serving as his only source of light.

Cathy hugged her arms around her middle and walked over to Krampus, who was writing a letter in a language she did not understand. He looked to his left and set his quill down and picked up a snow globe that contained a house that was not her own. It was a beautiful house that belonged to a family of four. The boy who lived in the house with his family had grown two years since Krampus had last seen him and taught his family a lesson.

"Is he gone?" Cathy asked him. "The Great Autumn Spirit?"

Krampus nodded his head slowly, not looking at her. He set the snow globe down and picked up his quill again, continuing with his writing. He waved her off, telling her she was free to go.

"Okay", said Cathy. She turned around and headed back over to the door, but stopped in the doorway and placed her hand onto the edge of the frame. She looked back at Krampus. "Thank you", she said. With that, Cathy shut the door and left him to his work.

Pretty soon, Christmastime arrived again. As the days drew nearer to the departure of the human girl he had abducted and become attached to, Krampus knew that there was no other way for him and Cathy to be together. She was a mortal. He was a demon. A demon who had transformed her from a frightened child, if not a spoiled one, into a beautiful young woman with a much more caring personality. Even better, Krampus had transformed Cathy in a way to make her appreciate Christmas and have a better outlook on it. He did not care how cruel he had been to her before, as long as she learned her lesson.

On the night of Christmas Eve, a grand feast was held in the dining room. While the Elves chowed down and chattered to each other in untraceable tongues, Cathy ate her bowl of red cabbage soup in silence, occasionally throwing side glances at Krampus, who paid her no attention. After the feast, Krampus raised his goblet and tossed it into the fireplace. The Elves rose up out of their seats and retreated to the ballroom. Cathy looked at Krampus and gave him a confused look, to which the Christmas demon offered her a clawed hand. Cathy took it and escorted him to the ballroom.

Earlier, Cathy was given one final task of wrapping presents for Krampus' minions. While Krampus sat on his throne, Cathy helped him in handing out the presents. While the gifts contained inside the packages were questionable to Cathy's eyes, the Elves seemed to love the presents given to them by their master. For Ketkrokur, Krampus had given him a marzipan cake in the shape of a pig. The helper who was most happiest with his present was Lumpy, who was given a plastic sword with a candy cane handle, a gift from Cathy to him. The leader of the gingerbread men, the one who hated her the most, was so touched by her act of thoughtfulness, that he broke down and cried tears of joy.

"Aw, Lumpy, knocking it off", Dumpy scoffed, hitting his friend on the back of the head, though it was more of a playful thing. "You're embarrassing us."

Clumpy giggled and gave his friend a comforting hug. "There, there", he said. Lumpy wiped away the frosting tears from his eyes and sobbed, "O-k-k-kay-y."

After the gift-giving ceremony was over, Teddy Klaue stood on top of the piano and told everybody he had an announcement to make. He asked Pecrhta to come over to him, to which the porcelain angel doll flew over to the maniacal teddy bear. Taking her claw into his paw, Teddy Klaue dropped down on bended knee and proposed to Perchta, presenting her with a gemless ring that had rust on it. With a gasp of shock, her eyes already bulging out of their sockets, Perchta shrieked with excitement and picked up Teddy Klaue, lifting him up and spinning him into the air. "Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times, yes!" She answered him, sealing it with a kiss, which she hid from view with her wings.

Cathy found this both funny and heartwarming, as she placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh at the sight of the two. Nevertheless, she was happy for them.

"Awww!" The gingerbread men exclaimed.

The Elves all looked at one another, murmuring. Der Klown looked at Nutcracker and Tik-Tok, and gave a simple shrug of his shoulders.

"Yes, yes, that's all very nice", said Nutcracker, "but now it is time to-"

Once again, the words of Nutcracker were cut short, as the gingerbread men all piled up on top of him, giggling and cackling.

Krampus rose up and waved his minions away for the night. The Elves and the toys retreated to their rooms. Der Klown slithered over to Nutcracker and plucked him out of the clutches of the gingerbread trio. Lumpy looked up at the snake-like harlequin creature and pointed his new sword at him. "Hey! I'm not done with him yet!" He protested.

Der Klown placed Nutcracker on the top of his red jester hat, to which the wooden soldier drew out his own sword and said, "Until tomorrow, my good fellow!" The clown and the nutcracker left the ballroom. Lumpy and Clumpy gave chase to the two.

Krampus felt somebody tugging onto his robe and looked down. Dumpy looked up and waved at him. "Hello." Krampus knelt down and held his hand out. The youngest gingerbread man jumped into it. Krampus rose up and turned to Cathy, who looked at Dumpy. The little gingerbread cookie presented to her with a knitted wristband.

"Merry Christmas, Cathy", said Dumpy.

Cathy took the blue and green wristband and put it on, admiring it. "Oh, Dumpy, it's beautiful", she said. Cathy looked at Dumpy and bent over to give him a kiss on top of his head, making him giggle.

Krampus gave a grunt of annoyance.

Cathy looked up at him and then looked at Dumpy again. "Dumpy, would you mind giving me and Krampus a minute alone?"

"Okay!" Dumpy squeaked, jumping down from his master's hand. The little gingerbread man ran out of the ballroom, hollering, "Hey, guys! She kissed me! She kissed me!"

Cathy stood up straight and looked back at Krampus, who looked away from her and slowly walked over to the window, gazing out into the cold winter night as the wind blew.

Cathy walked over and stood next to him. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "Merry Christmas, Krampus."

Krampus looked at her, growling softly.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish I didn't have to go", said Cathy. She looked at Krampus and told him, "I mean, don't get me wrong. I still miss my family and everything, but..." Cathy looked away from him and sighed to herself. "I'm gonna miss this place even more."

Krampus tilted his head and placed his left hand onto her shoulder. Cathy turned around and looked up at him, staring into his wonderful magenta eyes, while Krampus stared right back into her sparkly blue orbs. He blinked twice. Cathy felt her lower lip trembling and lowered her head, a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. Krampus wiped away her tear with the tip of his long finger. Cathy looked up at him again. Ever since the day she arrived, she always wondered what he looked like underneath his Santa mask. Knowing Kramus would never allow her to see his true face, Cathy reached up with her hand and stroked his beard instead, earning herself an affectionate growl from him.

"Never forget me", Cathy whispered.

Krampus stared at her for a minute, before he placed a long hand over her face and hissed out something that made his eyes glow red.

Suddenly, Cathy felt herself falling backwards in slow motion, the darkness surrounding her as she fell into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, Cathy found herself in a familiar place she had not seen in twelve months. She sat up in her own bed and found herself back in her old bedroom. She looked to her right. Her window was framed by a string of colorful Christmas lights. Cathy looked down at herself. She was no longer wearing a pink and white dress, but a pair of blue pajamas. She looked at her wrist and found the knitted bracelet was gone, too. Cathy looked to her left and jumped out of bed. She ran out into the hall and went downstairs into the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway and gasped when she saw a man and a woman standing near the stove. They both looked at her and smiled.

"Good morning, Cathy darling", said the woman.

"Merry Christmas, Cathy", said the man.

Cathy exclaimed a breath of relief and smiled, placing a hand over her beating heart. "Mom! Dad!" The strawberry blonde girl ran over to them, hugging an arm around each parent. "Oh, Mom and Dad, I love you both so much! I don't ever want to loose you again!"

"Loose us again?" The mother asked.

"What are you talking about?" The father asked.

Cathy looked at her parents, confused. "You mean, you didn't miss me? I was gone for a full year."

"Oh, Catherine, you must have been dreaming, darling", said the mother.

"Yes, you were tossing and turning in your bed all night long", said the father.

"But I-"

"Now, now, Cathy, why don't you go talk to your grandfather and wish him a happy Christmas, hmm?" Said the mother.

"Yes, and tell him you're sorry for the outburst the other day, you understand?" Said the father.

Cathy blinked and gasped in surprise. She turned around and ran to the living room, remembering what it looked like the night before. Cathy dashed into the living room and found it was back to its normal state. The fireplace was still intake, looking as though it was never busted open. An old man was sitting in a chair, enjoying the warm of the hearth.

"Grandpa Leo?" Cathy asked him.

Her grandfather turned his head left and looked at her. He stood up slowly as he smiled and opened his arms to her. "Merry Christmas, Cathy."

Cathy looked at her grandfather with tears in her eyes and ran over to him, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him into a tight hug.

"Oh, Grandpa, I'm so sorry", Cathy sobbed. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I never should have yelled at you and run off like that."

"There, there, Cathy darling", said Grandpa Leo, patting her on the back. "It's all right."

"No, it's not all right", said Cathy. She looked at her grandfather and told him, "I reacted poorly and treated you like dirt. Yesterday you said it was Christmas Eve and that it was never too late to ask for a miracle, right? Well, Grandpa, I _do_ believe in miracles. I know you're going to get better. I just know you are. From now on, I'm here for you. Always and forever."

Her grandfather wiped away her tears with his thumb and told her, "I know, Cathy. I'm sorry for upsetting you with my cancer at Christmastime."

"Grandpa, don't say that! If I never left, none of this would have-"

"But, Cathy, you came back, remember?"

Cathy blinked in surprise. "I did? You mean I was never..."

"Never what, Cathy?" Grandpa Leo asked her.

Cathy turned her head left and looked over at the Christmas tree. After all that happened to her, was it all just a dream?

"Grandpa, the coffee is ready!" The mother called from the kitchen.

Cathy looked back at her grandfather, who looked towards the direction of the kitchen. He looked back at his granddaughter and said, "We'll talk about it later."

Stunned and more confused than ever, Cathy nodded her head and said, "Okay."

Her grandfather turned around and walked away, leaving Cathy standing all alone in the living room.

Cathy turned her head and walked across the living room to look over the Christmas tree up close. It was beautiful and perfect, just as it had ever been. She smiled at that. Her eyes lowered down to the middle part of the tree, to which she frowned in confusion, and found Mr. Leggett, her sock monkey, hanging onto a strand of silver garland. An envelope was pinned to him. Cathy took the envelope and opened it. She pulled out a note and unfolded it. Something fell out of the paper. A blue and green wristband. Cathy crouched down to pick it up and took a glance at the presents that laid underneath the tree. One of them was a red package box with a gold ribbon. The tag had her initials on it.

Cathy pulled out the red present box and looked at it. She shook it and heard a twinkling sound. She tore open the wrapping paper and opened the lid and found the gift to be exactly what she thought it was. Dropping the lid, Cathy reached her hand into the box and pulled out an old-looking bauble with the words, _Gruss Vom Krampus_ , engraved on it.

Cathy stared at the bauble for a good chunk of a minute, feeling as though the world had stopped spinning. She did not dream about the ancient demon with goat hooves and large curved horns. He was real! The Christmas devil known as Krampus _did_ kidnap Cathy from her family, and yet he had somehow turned back time by one year. Whatever torture he had put her through, whatever damage he had done to her, is was all real. Krampus had treated her like a slave, raped her on two occasions, nearly killed her at least once, and yet, because he had falling in love with her, Krampus decided to gave Cathy back her life as though no time had passed, leaving her with only her memories of him.

Not knowing what to say or what to think, Cathy looked over her left shoulder and stood up. She went back up the stairs and walked into her room and found a present on her bed wrapped in black paper with a white ribbon and a red bow. At first she thought her grandfather or her parents put it there, but when Cathy went over and peeked at the tag, her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. She ran over to her closet to hide the bauble and to search for some decent clothes.

Soon as she came down stairs, with the present box under her arm, Cathy went to the living room to put on her coat and was greeted by her parents. The father was holding two cups of hot chocolate. The mother was holding a plate of Christmas cookies.

"Cathy, where are you going?" The father asked.

"I know it's Christmas, but there's something I forgot to do yesterday that I need to do today", Cathy explained.

"All right, darling, but before you go, would you like to take a gingerbread man cookie with you?" The mother asked.

Cathy looked at the plate and gasped when she saw that the Christmas cookies were, indeed, gingerbread men. She suddenly felt guilty and placed a hand over her stomach as though she were sick.

"Um, no, thanks", said Cathy, shaking her head, vigorously. "In fact, I'm off gingerbread men forever!" With that, Cathy ran out the door and leaped off the front porch, landing on all fours into the snow. She stood up and brushed the ice crystals from her pants.

"Cathy, are you all right?" Grandpa Leo asked her.

Cathy turned around and saw her grandfather was standing on the porch. "Yes, I'm all right, Grandpa", she answered. "I just remembered I have to be somewhere real quick."

"But, Cathy, it's Christmas", said Grandpa Leo.

"I know, but I promise I won't be long. You see, there's this boy and-"

"Oh, I see. All right, darling, but be back in an hour."

"I will", said Cathy.

Cathy walked two blocks down to an overly-decorated house with a wreath on the front door. She rang the doorbell and waited for somebody to answer. While she waited, Cathy looked over the silent morning of the peaceful, snow-covered neighborhood. She thought about Krampus and whether he missed her or not. Did the Elves miss her? Or the toys? Or even the gingerbread men? She hated to think about Dumpy waking up on Christmas morning, only to discover his favorite human was gone.

The door opened and a teenage boy of eighteen years appeared before her. He had short brown hair and glasses, and was wearing Batman pajamas and Godzilla slippers.

"Catherine, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I know I haven't been very nice to you lately, so I thought I'd make it up to you with this." Cathy showed him the present and gave it to him. "Merry Christmas, Archie."

Archie looked at the gift and then looked at Cathy with his mouth partially open, looking genuinely surprised. "You've got to be kidding me", he said.

"Hey, did I say trick or treat?" Cathy teased him. "Open it."

Nervously, Archie unwrapped the present and widened his eyes when he saw what it was: an action figure of Lex Luther. He looked at Cathy and said to her, "I...I don't know what to say."

"How about a thank you?" Cathy suggested, smiling at him.

Archie looked at the Lex Luther action figure and then looked at Cathy, smiling at her. "Thank you", he exclaimed.

Cathy gave him a simple nod of her head and said, "You welcome, Archie."

Beaming with excitement, Archie looked at Cathy's gift to him and looked at the strawberry blonde girl again. "Don't go anywhere", he said. "I have something for you, as well."

Archie left and returned less than a minute later, holding a hastily-wrapped present. "This is for you", he said. "I was going to give it to you before, but I was afraid you wouldn't like it."

Cathy took the gift and said, "Hmm, I wonder what it could be." She tore it open and gasped when she saw it was a cream-colored sweater with pink reindeer designs on it.

"Oh, Archie, this is beautiful", said Cathy.

"Do you like it?" Archie asked her.

"I love it!" Cathy exclaimed, holding the sweater up to her chest.

Archie shrugged his shoulders and said to her in a modest voice, "I made it myself."

Cathy looked at him with admirable eyes. "You _made_ this?"

"Yeah", said Archie.

Cathy looked at the sweater again and said, "Oh, Archie, thank you." She looked at him and gave him a hug, making Archie jump a little bit. He was not expecting her to do that, if ever, but was glad to return the favor by hugging her back in return. Suddenly, Archie looked up and saw a piece of mistletoe hanging over them.

"I don't remember hanging that up", said Archie.

Cathy broke free from their hug and looked up and saw the mistletoe. She looked at Archie and said, "Maybe Santa hung it up there for you."

Archie looked at Cathy and asked her, "Aren't you a little bit old to still be believing in Santa Claus?"

"Maybe, but as long as I believe in the spirit of Saint Nicholas, nothing will ever ruin the holiday season for me." Cathy reached down the front of her shirt and pulled out a gold chain with a cross and a coin with an image of a Shepard on it for him to see. "What do you think?" Cathy asked him.

Archie looked at the two charms and said, "Huh? That's cool, but I still don't understand what-" His words were cut short, as Cathy leaned forward and kissed him. Archie closed his eyes and placed a hand on the back of her head.

In another realm, in another world, somewhere no living man had ever set foot into before, a dark deity with large horns and a red-patched robe was watching over Catherine Emily McKay, keeping an eye on her until the end of her days.


End file.
